Former US President-Endorsed Contender Asfura Proclaimed Incoming Head of State of the Central American Nation
Donald Trump-backed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the winner of Honduras’s race for the presidency after a vote count that extended for almost a month and was clouded by claims of irregularities and criticism of interference by the American leader.
The conservative Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and former mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, obtained 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 ballots.
The electoral council proclaimed a winner before completing the review of all vote records under a “extraordinary review” launched last week to recount votes flagged as “irregular”. The move was criticised by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the OAS, which deployed an observation mission to the election held on 30 November.
Asfura has already declared himself the elected president. “The nation, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [electoral council]. I recognise the great work carried out by the members 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 declined to accept defeat and published a series of statements alleging fraud in the counting process, including “forgery of public documents”, claiming that “the data from the original tally sheets were altered”.
The election board is composed of three members: 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 initial pair of councillors.
The member associated with the president’s party rejected the outcome, alleged that an “stolen election” was under way and filed a legal challenge with the public prosecutor’s office, opening the possibility that the result will be contested in court.
In its statement, the council declared: “By the majority will of the people of Honduras, expressed freely at the polls, the plenary session of the CNE declares Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah constitutional president of the Republic of Honduras for the presidential term beginning on 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”
The declaration prior to the conclusion of the review was the latest in a string of disputes that marked the Central American country’s election campaign, starting with what many saw as blatant meddling by the US president.
Days before the vote, Trump publicly backed Asfura, stated the US would back the next government only if he was victorious, and criticized the other main contenders, labeling them socialists or allies of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.
On the night of the election, the US president also announced a pardon for the former Honduran president and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 45 years in prison for allegedly establishing “a major drug trafficking route to the United States”.
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on social media. “The people of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” stated Rubio. “The United States congratulates the elected president Asfura and looks forward to collaborating with his administration to advance economic growth and safety in our region.”
