Nasry Asfura, a conservative businessman backed by US President Donald Trump, was declared winner of the Honduran presidential vote Wednesday, December 24, weeks after a razor-thin election marred by delays and allegations of fraud.

Asfura, a 67-year-old son of Palestinian immigrants, defeated fellow conservative TV personality Salvador Nasralla, who had demanded a full recount due to alleged irregularities.

The plenary session of the national electoral council CNE “declares Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah elected for a four-year term,” the council’s president Ana Paola Hall said.

Rixi Moncada, a lawyer from the leftist Libre Party, which currently runs the government, was trailing far behind in third.

Within minutes of the declaration of the result, the United States welcomed the election of Asfura, saying it would help stop illegal immigration. “We look forward to working with his incoming administration to advance our bilateral and regional security cooperation, end illegal immigration to the United States, and strengthen the economic ties between our two countries,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.

Following the lengthy counting process in the Central American country’s election, Rubio called on all sides to “respect the confirmed results so that Honduran authorities may swiftly ensure a peaceful transition of authority.”

Tensions

The result was announced more than three weeks after the November 30 vote. The wait for the results has caused tensions among Hondurans, and the sluggish count has been accompanied by claims of irregularities and voter fraud.

The recount of nearly 2,800 tally sheets with suspected inconsistencies was pored over by hundreds of electoral staff and political delegates to determine the winner. The National Electoral Council had had until December 30 to declare a winner.

Last week, thousands of supporters of the ruling leftist Libre party of outgoing President Xiomara Castro staged a demonstration in the capital Tegucigalpa to protest what they consider “fraud” in the vote.

On the eve of the election, Trump in a surprise move pardoned former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez, a member of Asfura’s party who was serving a 45-year prison sentence in the United States for drug trafficking. Extradited by Honduras to face justice in the United States, Hernandez insists he had been set up by the previous administration of US president Joe Biden because of his conservative policies. The pardon was widely seen as contradicting Trump’s crackdown on alleged drug traffickers in Latin America.

Trump also endorsed Asfura, saying they could “work together to fight the narcocommunists,” and warned “there will be hell to pay” if the conservative candidate’s razor-thin lead was overturned in the count.