Tegucigalpa Mayor Nasry Asufra, the presidential candidate for Honduras' ruling conservative National Party, conceded defeat in Sunday's election to leftist opposition candidate Xiomara Castro on Tuesday, saying he had already congratulated her privately but "now I want to say it publicly," that "I congratulate her for her victory and as president-elect, I hope that God illuminates and guides her so that her administration does the best for the benefit of all of us Hondurans."
Castro was ahead in the pre-election polls and with 52 percent of the votes tallied, she leads Asufra 53 percent to 34 percent. Asufra's concession was a relief to Hondurans bracing for a repeat of 2017's marred election, in which President Juan Orlando Hernández was declared the winner after three tense weeks amid street protests that left 23 people dead. His National Party has held power since a 2009 coup deposed Castro's husband, Manuel Zelaya, and popular discontent with the party grew in recent years amid a series of corruption scandals and worsening economic hardship.
Minutes after Asufra publicly conceded, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken congratulated "the people of Honduras on their election and Xiomara Castro on her historic victory as Honduras' first female president." He added, "We look forward to working with the next government of Honduras."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"But Castro will face major challenges," The Associated Press notes. "Unemployment is above 10 percent, northern Honduras was devastated by two major hurricanes last year, and street gangs drag down the economy with their extortion rackets and violence."
-
August 30 editorial cartoonsCartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump's role reversal and King George III
-
5 bullseye cartoons about the reasons for mass shootingsCartoons Artists take on gun worship, a price paid, and more
-
Lisa Cook and Trump's battle for control the US FedTalking Point The president's attempts to fire one of the Federal Reserve's seven governor is represents 'a stunning escalation' of his attacks on the US central bank
-
RFK Jr. names new CDC head as staff revoltSpeed Read Kennedy installed his deputy, Jim O'Neill, as acting CDC director
-
DC prosecutors lose bid to indict sandwich throwerSpeed Read Prosecutors sought to charge Sean Dunn with assaulting a federal officer
-
White House fires new CDC head amid agency exodusSpeed Read CDC Director Susan Monarez was ousted after butting heads with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccines
-
DOGE put Social Security data at risk, official saysSpeed Read DOGE workers made the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans vulnerable to identity theft
-
Court rejects Trump suit against Maryland US judgesSpeed Read Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, said the executive branch had no authority to sue the judges
-
Trump expands National Guard role in policingSpeed Read The president wants the Guard to take on a larger role in domestic law enforcement
-
Trump says he's firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa CookSpeed Read The move is likely part of Trump's push to get the central bank to cut interest rates
-
Abrego released from jail, faces Uganda deportationSpeed Read The wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego García is expected to be detained at an ICE check-in and deported to Uganda
