Trump-backed candidate leads Honduras presidential vote, early trends show

Nasry Asfura holds a constrictive pb implicit his rival Salvador Nasralla, with astir 40 percent of votes successful statesmanlike predetermination counted.

Nasry Asfura, a blimpish person backed by United States President Donald Trump, is starring the Honduran statesmanlike election, with astir 40 percent of the votes tallied.

Preliminary results connected Monday showed that the National Party campaigner had secured 41 percent of the ballots truthful far, putting him marginally up of his Liberal Party rival, Salvador Nasralla, who had astir 39 percent.

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Left-wing campaigner Rixi Moncada, of the ruling Liberty and Refoundation (LIBRE) party, was trailing successful 3rd spot with 20 percent.

The ballot connected Sunday came respective days aft Trump brazenly intervened successful Honduran politics, throwing his value down Asfura, the 67-year-old erstwhile politician of Tegucigalpa, whom the US president said would combat “narco-communists”.

“If helium [Asfura] doesn’t win, the United States volition not beryllium throwing bully wealth aft bad,” Trump wrote connected his Truth Social level connected Friday.

Trump’s comments were reminiscent of his nationalist enactment for President Javier Milei successful the run-up to Argentina’s mid-term elections successful precocious October.

Ahead of Sunday’s ballot successful Honduras, Trump besides announced that helium would pardon erstwhile President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who utilized to pb the aforesaid enactment arsenic Asfura.

Hernandez, who was the Central American country’s president from 2014 until 2022, is presently serving a 45-year situation condemnation for cause trafficking and firearms charges.

Fanning flames

In the build-up to the election, the 3 main candidates accused each different of predetermination fixing, with the president of the National Electoral Council, Ana Paola Hall, informing each parties “not to instrumentality the flames of confrontation oregon violence”.

Security and employment are 2 of the main concerns for voters successful Honduras, a state that is plagued by cause trafficking and unemployment.

Under the enactment of President Xiomara Castro, execution and unemployment rates person improved, but the state inactive has Central America’s highest homicide rate.