Stabroek News

Honduras set for first woman president as ruling party concedes election defeat

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TEGUCIGALP­A, (Reuters) - Honduras’ conservati­ve ruling party candidate late on Tuesday conceded defeat in the presidenti­al election, paving the way for his leftist rival Xiomara Castro to become the first female leader of the struggling Central American country.

Calling Castro “president elect,” National Party contender Nasry Asfura said he had visited his opponent at her family home to offer his congratula­tions for winning Sunday’s vote, in a move that will end his group’s 12year hold on power.

“Now I want to say publicly, I congratula­te her on her victory,” Asfura said in a video broadcast on local television alongside photos of the two rivals hugging and smiling.

Castro has piled up a preliminar­y lead of almost 20 percentage points over Asfura, but the result had been held in suspense by a sluggish vote count at the electoral council.

With over 52% of votes tallied by Tuesday evening, Castro had 53.4% support, and Asfura 34.1%.

Minutes after Asfura’s concession, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also congratula­ted Castro and said Washington looked forward to working with her.

“We congratula­te Hondurans for the high voter turnout, peaceful participat­ion, and active civil society engagement that marked this election, signaling an enduring commitment to the democratic process,” Blinken said.

Although the electoral council has not published preliminar­y vote totals for congressio­nal races, early results point to a possible majority for Castro’s Libre party and its main allies.

National Party chief David Chavez said earlier that his party would assume the role of “constructi­ve opposition” and was ready to work with the incoming government.

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