President-Elect Xiomara Castro of Honduras takes her victory as the ruling National Party concedes.
Well, that took a while didn’t it? After a protracted counting period after Sunday’s general election, Xiomara Castro has finally received the go ahead to call herself president-elect of Honduras.
The ruling National Party, in power since 2009, conceded today, with its presidential candidate Nasry Asfura going on Twitter to say that he’d been over to see Castro to congratulate her, and that all presidential candidates were his friends.
Asfura, the mayor of Tegucigalpa, who goes under the nickname of “Papi”, went on to say that he hoped God would give her the guidance to benefit Honduras and develop democracy.
“Our country is beautiful and it is not how they see it from outside,” he said. “We respect the will of the people at the polls, and the decision of the majority. The country needs reconciliation and unity to achieve harmony.”
The past couple of days since Sunday’s election have been tense, and Asfura’s conciliatory words can only help to sooth the situation.
“Yo dije muchas veces, que yo no tengo enemigos, porque todos los demás candidatos son y serán mis amigos”. “Hoy me reuní con Xiomara Castro y toda su familia; fui a su casa para felicitarle personalmente y ahora les digo que la felicito por su triunfo y como presidenta electa”. pic.twitter.com/qPIwdpvxMd
— Papi a la Orden (@titoasfura) December 1, 2021
Many thought the National Party wouldn’t give up its grip on power without a fight.
Outgoing president Juan Orlando Hernandez, after all, has a lot to lose if his political enemies decide to extradite him to the United States to answer certain questions about drug smuggling, should the Americans ask.
Orlando Hernandez beat Castro in 2013 election, before running again in the disputed 2017 election, where he became the first two-term president of Honduras since they amended the constitution to allow double terms.
The irony, here, is that it was Castro’s husband, Manuel Zelaya, who the army ousted from power in 2009 after allegations that he wanted to change the rules to stay in power more than one term.
Zelaya’s detractors claim he was taking Honduras towards the influence of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua at the time of his ousting. It’s unclear whether his wife his wife will do the same.
Initial feelings seem to be she’s more of a centrist, more intent on battling the corruption that’s engulfed Honduras under Orlando Hernandez.
She’s also pledged to follow Panama, Costa Rica, and El Salvador in dropping relations with Taiwan in favor of China.
Xiomora Castro will take office in January.
Nasry Asfura Zablah, Candidato del PN, acepta la voluntad del pueblo, reconoce la victoria de Libre en alianza, y mi triunfo como Presidenta electa de HN. ¡Gracias!
¡Pueblo, no te voy a fallar! Con mis promesas retornaremos al orden democrático. pic.twitter.com/CN66kTcI5T
— Xiomara Castro de Zelaya (@XiomaraCastroZ) December 1, 2021
