TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras.- Initially the polls, after the first cut of results of the National Electoral Council (CNE) and, to close, the admission this Thursday of Maurici Oliva of his defeat elevate to Nasry “Tito” Asfura as the presidential candidate of the National Party for the general elections of Honduras.
Asfura thus breaks with a “curse” of more than 20 years ago that weighed on the mayors of the capital who aspired to the presidency of the Republic: all had faced a president of the National Congress and all had lost .
From the first polls at the ballot box on Sunday, in the absence of official results, an electoral coup by the mayor of the capital and pre-candidate of the “Unity and Hope” movement against the head of the Legislative power, Being two to one to votes: two marks for “Tito” for one that took Oliva.
Despite this, in “Tito” (twice mayor consecutively) austerity and serenity reigned on Sunday: “Nothing needs to be celebrated here, we are a strong and united party.” Oliva, from “Together We Can,” was just waiting for the official results.
These data officially arrived on Wednesday night, when the CNE gave its first cut in results, where Asfura obtained the 74% of the vote (With 101,573 marks in his favor), while Oliva was in 26% (36,258 votes).
For the president of the National Congress, these numbers were enough to know that there was an abysmal difference and, unlike other political parties where they live an atrocious fight over disagreements with the results, he accepted defeat.
(1/3) The results made official by the @CneHonduras they show an irreversible tendency that does not favor me. Respectful of the institutional, he accepted them and was attentive to the other elective levels willing to defend the positions achieved by our candidates.
– Maurici Oliva (@DrMauriciolivaH) March 18, 2021
See: Nothing needs to be celebrated here, we are a strong and united party: “Tito” Asfura
Mayor vs. president of the National Congress
Ever since Honduras began to live the democratic stage (since 1982) after being put under the military mandate, four times a president of National Congress has faced a mayor of Tegucigalpa in primary or general elections.
The common denominator: in all confrontations defeat the representative of the Legislature.
Proof of this is shown by history: Nora Gúnera de Melgar (Mayor of 1990-1994) lost in 1997 to Carlos Flores (President of the Legislature of 1994-1998).
The same thing happened with Miguel Pastor in 2005 when he fell in front Porfirio Lobo Sosa. The difference is that both were in charge at the time of the confrontation.
Then it would add up Ricardo Álvarez in 2013, which he could not in front of Juan Orlando Hernández. Alvarez would add eight years as a councilor, while Hernandez was the head of the National Congress.
Three to zero, in favor of congressmen.
History has changed: Nasry Asfura, 62, is the National Party’s candidate for next November’s general election thanks to the fact that seven out of 10 nationalists voted for him in the primary election on Sunday.
And this landslide victory comes despite the fact that elections were held in the face of a pandemic and the attrition of the National Party for mentions of corruption and drug trafficking.
Read also: “Tito” Asfura, a charismatic candidate who shuns the cameras
popularity
Experts estimated that Nasry Asfura would not get enough votes to run for nationalism because he was only known in Tegucigalpa for his tenure as mayor, but all indications are that he can win 16 of the 18 departments.
The certainty of victory was so strong in the movement of “Daddy in order” that the pre-candidate for mayor of Tegucigalpa, David Chávez, Announced that he would make his position available if he lost, as well as Antonio Rivera, Aspiring again to be a congressman.
In eight years, translated into two terms as mayor of the capital, “Tito” has given another face to the city, said the citizen Evelyn Ortez, Who also noted “the bad thing is that in recent months has abandoned the works for politics.”
See also: Honduras Election Results: Who Wins the Primary Elections at the Presidential Level?
The penultimate step
The “Unity and Hope” movement was formed without a leader running for president. But due to the passing of the days and direct and indirect pressures, Nasry Asfura accepted the challenge of starting the process aimed at the presidency of the Republic of Honduras.
This is how last November 13 the current “Unity and Hope” was registered with the CNE. Four months later, “Daddy in Order” feeds the illusion of nationalism to achieve the succession of Juan Orlando Hernández, Nationalist president who will end his term on January 27, 2022.
That “Tito” has reached an already consolidated movement has also allowed him to enjoy the increase of his followers, commented, meanwhile, the expert Arnulfo Castellanos.
“He was already popular, but getting to a base where almost all politicians are well known, gave him the plus he needed,” he expressed.
The movement is so well structured that they have their own computer center and dissemination of results with copies of the minutes at all three levels (president, deputies and mayors).
“Daddy in order” and his movement face two challenges: complement its strength with the one of Maurici Oliva in the National Party and to happen of the mayor in the presidency of Honduras, A fact that no politician has achieved so far.
Rather three challenges: at the gates has a pre-trial process for money laundering.