Trump-Backed Contender Asfura Declared New President of the Central American Nation
Former President Trump-endorsed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the winner of Honduras’s race for the presidency after a ballot tally that dragged on for nearly four weeks and was overshadowed by fraud allegations and accusations of meddling from the American leader.
The conservative Asfura, 67, a building tycoon 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 votes.
The election authority declared a victor before completing the review of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” launched last week to re-tally votes marked as “inconsistent”. The move was criticised by defeated candidates and deplored by the OAS, which deployed an observation mission to the election held on 30 November.
Asfura has already declared himself president-elect. “The nation, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [electoral council]. I acknowledge the great work undertaken by the members and the whole staff that administered the election. Honduras: 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 alleging fraud in the tallying procedure, including “forgery of public documents”, claiming that “the data from the initial count sheets were changed”.
The electoral council is made up of three councillors: one affiliated with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the leftist president, Xiomara Castro, whose nominee came in third place. Asfura’s victory was declared only by the first two councillors.
The representative associated with the president’s party rejected the outcome, claimed that an “stolen election” was taking place and filed a complaint with the attorney general, opening the possibility that the outcome will be contested 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 proclamation prior to the conclusion of the review was the latest in a string of controversies that characterized the Central American country’s presidential race, starting with what many saw as blatant meddling by the US president.
Days before the vote, Trump publicly backed Asfura, stated the US would support the next government only if he won, and attacked the other leading candidates, calling them communists or associates of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.
On the eve of the election, the US president also announced a pardon for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 45 years in prison for allegedly creating “a major drug trafficking route to the United States”.
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on a public platform. “The citizens of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” stated Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to president-elect Asfura and looks forward to working with his administration to promote economic growth and security in our region.”