Honduras elected its first female president on Tuesday when Xiomara Castro defeated the country's ruling party, easing concerns of another contested vote and violent demonstrations by protesters.
In a statement, the presidential candidate of the National Party, Tegucigalpa Mayor Nasry Asfura said that he personally went and congratulated Castro. The situation came despite only about half of the voting tallies having been counted from Sunday's election.
Honduras' First Female President
The National Electoral Council revealed that Castro, the former first lady, had 53% of the votes while Asfura had 34%. The numbers come as there were still 52% of the tallies that have yet to be counted. The council has 30 days from the election to declare a winner among the candidates.
In a statement, Asfura said that he had already met with Castro and her family to congratulate his opposition. Now, the mayor said he wanted to publicly express his praises for the former first lady. Asfura said that he had hoped Castro's path would be illuminated by God so that her administration could work to make the country a better place for Hondurans, NBC News reported.
Castro, being the first woman to lead the Central American nation, is currently waiting for results to see if her left-wing party would be able to gain control of Congress despite Asfura, her main rival, having already conceded defeat. The country's attention on Wednesday turned to the fate of the 128-member Congress after the National party's 12-year-long rule was set to end.
Preliminary results suggested that Castro's party and its allies will be able to enjoy a simple majority if the trend of the current vote tally holds true, This prediction comes as the congressional balance of power continues to be uncertain.
If Castro's party does win a majority of Congress, it would ease the former first lady's attempts to pass some of her legislative priorities. However, her commitment to convoke an assembly to rewrite the Honduran constitution could still face opposition because it will require a two-thirds majority, Aljazeera reported.
Relationship With Taiwan
The situation comes as Castro floated the idea of ending Honduras' decades-long recognition of Taiwan's sovereignty, an idea that has put both Taipei and the United States on alert. However, Taiwanese officials said they were willing to cooperate with the former first lady to deepen the two regions' relationship.
With Honduras being one of only 15 nations that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, which China continues to claim as part of its territory, Taipei's ambassador had already congratulated Castro on behalf of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-Wen. On Wednesday, Castro posted a short Twitter message expressing her gratitude and thanking the Taiwanese president.
"On the basis of the long-term friendship established with Honduras, our country will deepen cooperation between the two countries with the new government team led by president-elect Castro, and jointly enhance the well-being of the two peoples," said the ministry in a statement, Reuters reported.
Additionally, Castro wrote in her manifesto that was willing to establish formal ties with Beijing if she won the election. However, the former first lady's aide who wrote the manifesto later said that no final decision has been taken.
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