Castro set to be first female president of Honduras

Honduran presidential candidate Xiomara Castro has declared victory in Sunday’s election, as supporters celebrated the left’s apparent return to power 12 years after her husband was ousted in a coup.

With half the ballots counted, Ms Castro, the wife of former president Manuel Zelaya, held a nearly 20-point lead over Nasry Asfura, the capital’s mayor and ruling National Party hopeful, who won 34 per cent, according to a preliminary tally yesterday. Celebrations broke out at Ms Castro’s campaign headquarters, while the offices of the National Party were deserted.

Victory for her would give Honduras its first female president and end a dozen years of conservative rule.

Both the National Party and Ms Castro’s Liberty and Refoundation party had claimed victory after what the electoral council said was a historic turnout on Sunday.

“We have turned back authoritarianism,” she told supporters. Business leaders quickly offered congratulations and Ms Castro promised to work with the private sector.

“We’re going to form a government of reconciliation, a government of peace and justice,” Ms Castro said.

More than 5.1 million Hondurans were registered to vote at nearly 6,000 polling stations across the country. In addition to a new president, they chose a congress, representatives to the Central American Parliament and local officials.

Ms Castro sought to mount a unified opposition to President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who has denied accusations of links to powerful gangs, despite an investigation in the US linking him to alleged drug trafficking.