Trump-Backed Candidate Asfura Declared Incoming President of the Central American Nation
Former President Trump-endorsed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the victor of Honduras’s race for the presidency following a ballot tally that extended for nearly four weeks and was overshadowed by fraud allegations and accusations of interference by the American leader.
The conservative Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and ex-mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, obtained 40.27% of the vote, against 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 review of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” initiated last week to re-tally votes marked as “irregular”. The move was decried by defeated candidates and lamented by the OAS, which deployed an observation mission to the election held on 30 November.
Asfura has proclaimed himself as president-elect. “The nation, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I recognise the great work carried out by the councillors and the whole staff that ran the election. My fellow citizens: I am prepared to lead. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.
Nasralla refused to concede and posted a number of messages claiming manipulation in the tallying procedure, including “tampering with official records”, claiming that “the data from the initial count sheets were altered”.
The election board is made up of three members: one aligned with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the leftist 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 refused to recognise the result, alleged that an “electoral coup” was taking place and filed a legal challenge with the public prosecutor’s office, opening the possibility that the outcome will be contested in court.
In its statement, the council said: “By the majority will of the Honduran people, expressed sovereignly at the polls, the plenary session of the CNE proclaims Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah constitutional president of the Republic of Honduras for the presidential term starting 27 January 2026 and ending on 27 January 2030.”
The declaration prior to the conclusion of the recount was the most recent in a string of disputes that characterized the Central American country’s presidential race, starting with what many saw as open interference by the American head of state.
Days before the election, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, said the US would support the next government only if he was victorious, and criticized the other leading candidates, labeling them communists or associates of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.
On the eve of the election, the American leader also granted clemency for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for reportedly establishing “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.
The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on a public platform. “The people of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates the elected president Asfura and looks forward to collaborating with his administration to promote economic growth and safety in our region.”
