Trump-backed candidate Nasry Asfura wins Honduras presidential election
Nasry Asfura was declared the winner of the presidential election in Honduras after weeks of delays due to technical problems and allegations of fraud.
According to the National Electoral Council (CNE), the conservative National Party candidate supported by US President Donald Trump received 40.3 percent of the votes, leaving Salvador Nasralla of the center-right Liberal Party behind with 39.5 percent of the votes.
“Honduras: I’m ready to rule. I won’t let you down,” Asfura said in his post about X.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on all parties to respect the outcome “so that Honduran authorities can ensure a peaceful transfer of power.”
However, the country’s Congress President, Luis Redondo, made a post stating that the result was “completely illegal”.
Voting was held on November 30, but counting was delayed twice due to technical disruptions that election officials described as “inexcusable.”
CNE president Ana Paola Hall blamed the delay on the private company tasked with tabulating the results.
He said the company performed maintenance without warning or checking with CNE.
The suspension comes a day after the portal showing real-time results crashed.
The election results were tight, and due to the turbulent nature of the processing system, approximately 15% of the tallies had to be counted by hand to determine the winner.
There was tension in Honduras last week due to the delay in the protests held across the country.
Thousands of supporters of the ruling Libre party demonstrated in the capital Tegucigalpa over what they saw as voting fraud.
Outgoing President Xiomara Castro has claimed an “election coup” and said earlier this month that the election was marred by Trump’s “interference”.
When he endorsed Asfura for president, Trump said he would have “something to pay” if his narrow lead in the count was overturned.
He also threatened to withdraw financial support from the United States if Asfura did not win.
In a surprise move, the US president also pardoned Asfura National Party member Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was serving a 45-year prison sentence in the US on drug and weapons charges.
Xiomara Castro was prohibited from running for a second term by the constitution.
Nine days after the vote, Nasralla accused “corrupt people” of manipulating the vote count in the Central American country. He also said Trump’s comments hurt his chances of winning.
In a statement after the result was announced, Rubio said the United States “looks forward to working with the incoming administration to advance our bilateral and regional security cooperation,” adding that the two countries will “end illegal immigration to the United States” while strengthening economic ties.
