Former US President-Endorsed Contender Asfura Proclaimed New President of Honduras

Former President Trump-endorsed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was announced as the winner of Honduras’s race for the presidency following a vote count that dragged on for almost a month and was marred by fraud allegations and criticism of interference by the US president.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and ex-mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 ballots.

The election authority declared a victor prior to finishing the examination of all tally sheets under a “extraordinary review” initiated last week to recount votes flagged as “inconsistent”. The move was criticised by defeated candidates and deplored by the Organization of American States, which deployed an observation mission to the poll held on 30 November.

Asfura has already declared himself the elected president. “The nation, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I acknowledge the tremendous effort undertaken by the members and the whole staff that administered the election. Honduras: I am prepared to lead. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he stated.

Nasralla refused to concede and posted a series of statements alleging fraud in the tallying procedure, including “tampering with official records”, claiming that “the figures from the original tally sheets were changed”.

The electoral council is made up of three councillors: one aligned with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the leftist president, Xiomara Castro, whose candidate came in third place. Asfura’s win was announced only by the initial pair of councillors.

The member associated with the president’s party refused to recognise the outcome, alleged that an “electoral coup” was under way and filed a complaint with the attorney general, raising the prospect that the result will be contested in the judiciary.

In its announcement, the council said: “By the sovereign choice of the Honduran people, expressed sovereignly at the ballot box, the plenary session of the CNE proclaims Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah legitimate president of the Republic of Honduras for the presidential term starting 27 January 2026 and ending on 27 January 2030.”

The declaration before the end of the review was the latest in a series of controversies that characterized the Central American country’s presidential race, beginning with what many saw as blatant meddling by the American head of state.

Days before the election, Trump publicly backed Asfura, stated the US would support the next government only if he was victorious, and attacked the other leading candidates, calling them communists or associates of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.

On the night of the election, the US president also granted clemency for the former Honduran president and Asfura supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for allegedly creating “a major drug trafficking route to the United States”.

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on social media. “The citizens of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” stated Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to the elected president Asfura and anticipates working with his administration to promote prosperity and security in our region.”