Nasri Asfoura wins the presidential elections in Honduras

The electoral authorities in Honduras announced on Wednesday the victory of Nasri Asfoura, the right-wing candidate supported by US President Donald Trump, in the presidential elections, after a weeks-long delay in the vote counting, which included accusations of fraud.

The 67-year-old businessman, the son of Palestinian immigrants, defeated former TV presenter Salvador Nasrallah, also a right-winger, who demanded a complete recount of the votes due to allegations of irregularities.

The head of the National Elections Council, Anna Paula Hall, said that the council: “Announces Nasri Juan Asfoura Zablah the winner of a four-year presidential term.” Asfoura is scheduled to take office on January 27.

Asfoura received 40.1% of the votes, compared to 39.53% for Nasrallah and 19.19% for Rishi Moncada, the candidate of outgoing leftist President Xiomara Castro, according to the official results.

As soon as it was announced that Asfoura had won the presidency, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised in a statement a “clear” victory, calling on all parties to “respect the confirmed results so that the Honduran authorities can ensure a rapid and peaceful transfer of power.”

Rubio added that he looks forward to working with the next Asfoura administration “to strengthen our bilateral and regional security cooperation and end illegal immigration.”

The real estate development tycoon won the presidency in his second attempt with the support of Trump, who, on the eve of the elections, which took place in one round on November 30, threatened to reduce aid to one of the poorest countries in Latin America if his preferred candidate was not elected.

The repeated suspensions of the primary vote count, which the National Elections Council attributed to technical problems with the private company responsible for transmitting and publishing the results, raised suspicions of election fraud, which was expressed by Nasrallah of the Liberal Party in addition to Moncada.

A final recount was later conducted of the results of many of the polling stations that were the subject of accusations. However, the Organization of American States and the European Union election monitoring missions indicated that no serious irregularities were detected during the presidential elections in Honduras.