Honduras: “I am ready to govern” – Trump candidate Asfura declared winner in presidential election | EUROtoday

The conservative candidate Nasry Asfura, supported by US President Donald Trump, has been declared the winner of the presidential election in Honduras. The electoral authority introduced this on Wednesday after weeks of delays. Asfura acquired 40.3 % of the vote, forward of Salvador Nasralla with 39.5 %.

The candidate from the ruling LIBRE occasion, Rixi Moncada, got here a distant third. However, the choice was solely accredited by two of the three electoral council members, additional fueling the dispute over the shut outcome. “Honduras: I am ready to govern. I will not disappoint you,” the 67-year-old politician and former mayor of the capital Tegucigalpa wrote on the X platform after the announcement.

A couple of minutes after the official outcomes have been introduced, the US authorities welcomed them. Washington appears to be like ahead to working with the brand new Honduran authorities “to advance our bilateral and regional security cooperation, end illegal immigration to the United States and strengthen economic ties between our two countries,” mentioned US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Given the prolonged election counting course of, the US Secretary of State referred to as on all sides to “respect the certified results so that the Honduran authorities can quickly ensure a peaceful transition of power.”

However, the President of the Honduran Congress, Luis Redondo of the ruling LIBRE occasion, instantly dismissed the electoral authority’s declaration as an electoral coup. “This is completely outside the law. It has no value,” he wrote on X.

The Left Party speaks of an electoral coup

Because of the shut outcome and discrepancies, round 15 % of the poll papers needed to be re-counted by hand. The ruling Left Party had accused the opposition of an election coup and referred to as for protests.

US President Trump intervened massively within the election marketing campaign. He described Asfura as the one true pal of freedom in Honduras and threatened to chop off US monetary help if he didn’t win. ‌

Trump additionally pardoned former President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was serving a jail sentence within the United States for drug trafficking and weapons possession. Experts say Trump’s help is a part of his push to type a conservative bloc in Latin America.