This is a historic victory – albeit not yet official. For the first time, Honduras will be led by a woman, Xiomara Castro, the candidate of the Freedom and Refoundation Party (Libre, left), which obtained a majority in the presidential election on November 28.
His right-wing rival, Nasry Asfura, the candidate of the National Party (PN) in power for twelve years, admitted his defeat on Tuesday, November 30, in the evening, saluting the “Triumph” by Mme Castro, even though the National Electoral Council had still not given final results. Thursday morning, just 60% of the ballots had been counted. This recognition, confirmed by a visit from Mr. Asfura to the candidate’s home, was the event that Hondurans had been waiting for forty-eight hours, suspended from the count of the endless ballot.
The campaign had been marked by violence and political assassinations – nearly thirty in ten months of campaigning – and the population feared, as happened in 2017, during the re-election of President Juan Orlando Hernandez (“JOH” ), a last minute turnaround. This is to say if the recognition of his defeat by Mr. Asfura was expected. In the process, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken greeted an election on Tuesday “Free and fair”.
Xiomara Castro won nearly 52% of the vote, against 35% for Mr. Asfura, and 9% for the third in contention, Yani Rosenthal, of the Liberal Party (PL), according to the partial results. A triumph all the more unprecedented in that it breaks with a hundred years of bipartisanship between the PN and the PL, and that the participation was the highest in the recent history of the country (69%).
“A light for the whole country”
“Twelve years of resistance by these people have not been in vain! “, Xiomara Castro proclaimed on Sunday evening, while thousands of people, without waiting for the results, took to the streets to shout “’JOH’, you’re leaving! “. The head of state leaves power with a free fall popularity rate, after two terms marked by accusations of links to drug trafficking – the American justice has gone so far as to qualify Honduras as “Narco-state”.
“The triumph of Mme Castro is that of an alliance that wanted to oust from power the criminal structure that has ruled for so long, rejoices Joaquin Mejia, lawyer and researcher of the Team of reflection, research and communication, an NGO. It is a hope, a light for the whole country after dark years. “
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