His Roots Are Palestinian.. Nasri Asfoura Wins Presidential Elections in Honduras

SadaNews - The electoral authorities in Honduras announced the victory of Nasri Asfoura, the right-wing candidate supported by U.S. President Donald Trump, in the presidential elections, following weeks of delays in counting the votes amid allegations of fraud.

Asfoura, a 67-year-old businessman and son of Palestinian immigrants, defeated former television broadcaster Salvador Nasrallah, who is also a right-wing candidate, and who called for a complete recount of the votes due to claims of irregularities.

This victory comes as part of the ongoing shift of Latin America towards the right, just one week after far-right politician José Antonio Kast was chosen as president of Chile.

Asfoura received 40.1% of the votes, compared to 39.53% for Nasrallah (who is also of Palestinian descent), and 19.19% for Rishi Moncada, who is supported by outgoing leftist president Xiomara Castro, according to official results.

The president of the National Electoral Council, Ana Paula Hall, stated that the council "declares Nasri Juan Asfoura Zablah the winner of a four-year presidential term," with his inauguration set for January 27th.

Asfoura wrote in a post on platform X shortly after the results were announced: "Honduras: I am ready to govern... I will not let you down."

The results serve as a rebuke to the current leftist leader and her ruling Social Democratic party, the "Liberty and Refoundation Party," as her candidate came in third by a significant margin.

As soon as Asfoura's victory in the presidency was announced, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised the "clear" victory in a statement, calling on all parties to "respect the confirmed results, so that Honduran authorities can ensure a swift and peaceful transfer of power."

Rubio added that he looks forward to working with Asfoura's upcoming administration "to enhance our bilateral and regional security cooperation and to end illegal immigration."

The real estate mogul won the presidency in his second attempt with Trump's support, who threatened on the eve of the elections, which were held in a single round on November 30, to cut aid to one of the poorest countries in Latin America if his preferred candidate was not elected.

The repeated suspensions of the initial vote counting, attributed by the National Electoral Council to technical problems with the private company responsible for transmitting and publishing results, raised suspicions of election fraud, which was expressed by Nasrallah from the Liberal Party as well as Moncada.

A final recount was later conducted for the results of many polling stations that were under suspicion.

However, election observation missions from the Organization of American States and the European Union indicated that no serious violations were observed during the presidential elections in Honduras.