Leftist holds commanding lead in Honduran presidential vote

1 of 23 |

Free Party presidential candidate Xiomara Castro greets her supporters after general elections, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021. Castro claimed victory, setting up a showdown with the National Party which said its candidate had won a vote that could end the conservative party’s 12 years in power. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

2 of 23 |

Voters line up outside a polling station during general elections in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

3 of 23 |

National Party presidential candidate Nasry Asfura show his ink stained finger after casting his ballot at a polling station during general elections in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

4 of 23 |

Xiomara Castro, presidential candidate of the Free Party, shows her pinky finger marked with indelible ink after voting in general elections in Catacamas, Honduras, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Elmer Martinez)

5 of 23 |

A man votes during general elections in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

6 of 23 |

A voter casts her ballot during general elections in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

7 of 23 |

A voter looks at candidates lists at a National Party information booth outside a polling station during general elections in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

8 of 23 |

Voters line up outside a polling station during general elections in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

9 of 23 |

Voters up outside a polling station during general elections in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

10 of 23 |

Voters wait for their ballots a polling station during general elections in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

11 of 23 |

A electoral volunteer counts ballots at a polling station during general elections in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

12 of 23 |

A voter registers on a finger print scanner at a polling station during general elections in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

13 of 23 |

Voters line up outside a polling station during general elections in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

14 of 23 |

National Party presidential candidate Nasry Asfura arrives at a polling station during general elections in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

15 of 23 |

People line up outside a polling station after closing time to vote during general elections in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021. The National Electoral Council announced that polling stations that still had people waiting outside to vote should stay open until all had a chance to cast their ballots. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

16 of 23 |

An election worker casts her ballot during general elections in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021. The National Electoral Council called on political parties to refrain from declaring their candidates victorious or providing partial vote totals while voting was ongoing. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

17 of 23 |

Soldiers guard boxes of electoral ballots after the closing of a voting center during general elections in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021. The National Electoral Council called on political parties to refrain from declaring their candidates victorious or providing partial vote totals while voting was ongoing. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

18 of 23 |

People line up outside a polling station after closing time, to vote during general elections in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021. The National Electoral Council announced that polling stations that still had people waiting outside to vote should stay open until all had a chance to cast their ballots. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

19 of 23 |

20 of 23 |

Supporters of Free Party presidential candidate Xiomara Castro cheer before she speaks after general elections, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021. Castro claimed victory, setting up a showdown with the National Party which said its candidate had won a vote that could end the conservative party’s 12 years in power. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

21 of 23 |

A supporter of Free Party presidential candidate Xiomara Castro cheers before she speaks in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021. Castro claimed victory, setting up a showdown with the National Party which said its candidate had won a vote that could end the conservative party’s 12 years in power. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

22 of 23 |

Voters pressure an elections official to keep the polling station open after the official closing time as more people wait outside to vote during general elections in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021. The National Electoral Council announced that polling stations that still had people waiting outside to vote should stay open until all had a chance to cast their ballots. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

23 of 23 |

Una persona del equipo de voluntarios electorales cuenta las boletas en un colegio electoral durante las elecciones generales en Tegucigalpa, Honduras, el domingo 28 de noviembre de 2021. (AP Foto/Moisés Castillo)

By Christopher Sherman

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Leftist opposition candidate Xiomara Castro held a commanding lead early Monday as Hondurans appeared poised to remove the conservative National Party from power after 12 years of continuous rule.

Castro declared herself the winner despite orders from the National Electoral Council to political parties to await official results.

“We win! We win!” Castro, Honduras’ former first lady who is making her third presidential run, told cheering Liberty and Re-foundation party supporters when only a fraction of the ballots had been tallied. “Today the people have obtained justice. We have reversed authoritarianism.”

The National Party also quickly declared victory for its candidate, Tegucigalpa Mayor Nasry Asfura, but the early returns were not promising.

Other news

President of European Central Bank Christine Lagarde speaks at the press conference in Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, Sept.14, 2023, after a meeting of the ECB's governing council. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Interest rates will stay high ‘as long as necessary,’ the European Central Bank’s leader says

FILE - Vehicles pass under a billboard supporting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi for the coming presidential elections, erected by Egypt's political party of Homat Watan, the Protectors of the Nation, in Cairo, Egypt, on Sept. 4, 2023. Arabic reads, "yes for stability." Egypt will hold a presidential election over three days in December, officials announced Monday, Sept. 25, 2023 with President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi highly likely to prolong his stay in power until 2030. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)

Egypt sets a presidential election for December with el-Sissi likely to stay in power until 2030

Wales' Aaron Wainwright celebrates with fans defeating Australia 40-6 during a Rugby World Cup Pool C match at the Parc OL stadium in Lyon, France, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023. Wales qualified to the quarterfinals. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

European teams are winning the big contests at the Rugby World Cup. That means times are a-changin’

By early Monday, Castro’s wide early lead was holding up. With 51% of the polling station tallies in, Castro had 53% of the votes and Asfura 33%, according to the National Electoral Council preliminary count. With more than 1.8 million votes counted, Castro held a margin of more than 350,000 votes. The council said turnout was more than 68%.

The capital awoke slowly Monday after a long night of celebration. Streets were void of the usual work week traffic and instead conveyed the quiet calm of a holiday morning. As stacks of newspapers hit the sidewalks around the city, it was clear the country’s major outlets could not resist giving the victory to Castro despite warnings from the National Electoral Council to wait for official results.

Along Morazan Boulevard where thousands partied into the early morning, businesses remained boarded, still uncertain of whether it was safe to open. Graffiti poked a finger in the eye of the National Party, urging its leaders, especially outgoing President Juan Orlando Hernández to hurry toward the exits.

Vanessa Soler, 20, walked briskly to work in downtown Tegucigalpa. A broad smile was evident even beneath her face mask when asked about the still arriving election results.

“It’s excellent,” Soler said. “It did justice, they respected the people’s decision.”

Like several people interviewed Monday, Soler expressed relief that the election hadn’t turned violent. And with the margin so wide she expected the other side would be compelled to recognize the outcome.

As for the possibility of Honduras having its first female president, Soler smiled again: “Now we the women are going to govern.”

José Lagos huddled in a knot of men sipping coffee and chatting about the election in the capital’s central plaza.

“Whoever wins you have to respect it,” Lagos said. He said the National Party’s 12 years in office was long enough. “A female president is what Honduras needs.”

On Sunday night, thousands of people packed Morazan Boulevard, blowing car horns, waving the Libre party’s red flags and setting off fireworks. After midnight, the street continued to fill with Castro’s celebrating supporters.

Anticipating vandalism, some businesses along the boulevard had covered their windows with wood or metal sheeting, but the celebration appeared peaceful.

In 2017, after a protracted election filled with irregularities, protesters filled the streets and the government imposed a curfew. Three weeks later now-outgoing President Juan Orlando Hernández was declared the winner despite the Organization of American States observation mission calling for an election re-do. At least 23 people were killed.

Late Sunday, Castro promised a permanent dialogue with the Honduran people and said beginning Monday she wanted to open conversations with all sectors of society and international organizations to seek solutions for the Central American country, which is recovering from two major hurricanes, troubled by gangs and enduring corruption and high poverty. Her husband, the former president who was ousted by a military coup in 2009, did not appear on stage with her, but her son and daughter were there.

Castro received a late surge of support when Salvador Nasralla, who lost to Hernández in 2017, ended his own candidacy and joined her alliance in October. The move took a three-way race that could have favored Asfura to just two.

Castro rode a wave of discontentment with the National Party’s rule. Hernández became a national embarrassment with U.S. federal prosecutors in New York accusing him of running a narco state and fueling his own political rise with drug money. Hernández has denied it all and has not been formally charged, but that could change once he leaves office.

In addition to a new president, Hondurans on Sunday chose a new congress, new representatives to the Central American Parliament and a bevy of local races.

The Organization of American States observation mission said in a statement late Sunday that the voting had appeared to be “appropriate and peaceful.”

Sunday’s turnout was 10 points above that in 2017.