Former US President-Endorsed Candidate Asfura Declared New President of Honduras

Donald Trump-backed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura was announced as the victor of Honduras’s race for the presidency after a vote count that dragged on for almost a month and was clouded by fraud allegations and criticism of meddling from the US president.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and ex-mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, compared to 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 ballots.

The electoral council proclaimed a winner prior to finishing the examination of all vote records under a “extraordinary review” initiated last week to re-tally votes marked as “irregular”. The decision was criticised by defeated candidates and lamented by the Organization of American States, which deployed an monitoring team to the poll held on 30 November.

Asfura has proclaimed himself as the elected president. “The nation, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I acknowledge the great work carried out by the members and the whole staff that administered the election. My fellow citizens: I am ready to govern. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he stated.

Nasralla declined to accept defeat and published a number of messages claiming manipulation in the tallying procedure, including “tampering with official records”, asserting that “the figures from the initial count sheets were changed”.

The election board is made up of three councillors: one aligned with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the progressive president, Xiomara Castro, whose candidate finished third. Asfura’s victory was declared only by the first two councillors.

The representative linked to the president’s party refused to recognise the outcome, alleged that an “electoral coup” was taking place and lodged a legal challenge with the attorney general, raising the prospect that the result will be challenged in the judiciary.

In its statement, the council said: “By the sovereign choice of the Honduran people, expressed sovereignly at the ballot box, the full council 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 recount was the most recent in a series of disputes that characterized the Central American country’s election campaign, beginning with what many saw as open interference by the US president.

Days before the vote, Trump publicly backed Asfura, stated the US would back the next government only if he won, and criticized the other main contenders, calling them socialists or allies of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.

On the eve of the election, the US president also granted clemency for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for allegedly establishing “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.

The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on social media. “The citizens of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” stated Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to the elected president Asfura and looks forward to collaborating with his government to promote prosperity and safety in our region.”