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

Former President Trump-endorsed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the winner of Honduras’s race for the presidency following a ballot tally that dragged on for almost a month and was marred by claims of irregularities and criticism of meddling from the US president.

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

The election authority proclaimed a winner prior to finishing the examination of all vote records under a “extraordinary review” initiated last week to recount votes marked as “inconsistent”. The move was decried 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 president-elect. “Honduras, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [electoral council]. I recognise the great work undertaken by the councillors and the entire team that ran the election. My fellow citizens: I am prepared to lead. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he stated.

Nasralla declined to accept defeat and published a series of statements alleging fraud in the tallying procedure, including “forgery of public documents”, claiming that “the data from the initial count sheets were altered”.

The election board is composed 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 victory was announced only by the initial pair of councillors.

The member associated with the president’s party rejected the outcome, alleged that an “electoral coup” was under way and filed a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office, opening the possibility that the outcome will be challenged in court.

In its statement, the council said: “By the majority will of the Honduran people, expressed freely 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 concluding on 27 January 2030.”

The proclamation before the end of the recount was the most recent in a series of disputes that characterized the Central American country’s presidential race, beginning with what many saw as blatant meddling by the US president.

Shortly prior to the election, Trump publicly backed Asfura, stated the US would back the next government only if he won, and criticized the other leading candidates, calling them socialists or allies of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.

On the night of the election, the American leader also announced a pardon for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for allegedly creating “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 made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” stated Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to president-elect Asfura and looks forward to working with his government to promote prosperity and safety in our hemisphere.”