Trump-Backed Candidate Asfura Proclaimed Incoming Head of State of the Central American Nation
Former President Trump-endorsed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura was announced as the winner of Honduras’s presidential election after a ballot tally 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 former mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, compared to 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 votes.
The election authority declared a victor before completing the review of all tally sheets under a “extraordinary review” initiated last week to re-tally votes marked as “irregular”. The decision was criticised by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the OAS, which deployed an observation mission to the election held on 30 November.
Asfura has proclaimed himself as the elected president. “The nation, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [electoral council]. I acknowledge the tremendous effort undertaken by the members and the whole staff that ran the election. Honduras: I am ready to govern. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he stated.
Nasralla declined to accept defeat and published a number of messages alleging fraud in the counting process, including “tampering with official records”, claiming that “the data from the original tally sheets were changed”.
The electoral council is composed of three councillors: one affiliated with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the progressive president, Xiomara Castro, whose nominee finished third. Asfura’s win was announced only by the first two councillors.
The representative linked to the president’s party rejected the result, alleged that an “stolen election” was taking place and filed a legal challenge with the attorney general, opening the possibility that the outcome will be challenged in court.
In its announcement, the council said: “By the sovereign choice of the Honduran people, expressed freely at the polls, the plenary session of the CNE declares Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah legitimate president of the Republic of Honduras for the four-year term starting 27 January 2026 and ending on 27 January 2030.”
The declaration before the end of the recount was the latest in a string of disputes 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 openly endorsed Asfura, said the US would back the next government only if he was victorious, and criticized the other leading candidates, calling them socialists or allies of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.
On the eve of the election, the American leader also granted clemency for the former Honduran president and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for allegedly establishing “a major drug trafficking route to the United States”.
The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on social media. “The people of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates the elected president Asfura and looks forward to working with his administration to advance prosperity and security in our hemisphere.”
