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

Donald Trump-backed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was announced as the victor of Honduras’s race for the presidency following a vote count that dragged on for almost a month and was clouded by fraud allegations and criticism of interference by the US president.

The conservative Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and ex-mayor of the capital, 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 prior to finishing the review of all tally sheets under a “extraordinary review” launched last week to re-tally votes marked as “irregular”. The decision was criticised by defeated candidates and lamented by the OAS, which deployed an monitoring team to the poll held on 30 November.

Asfura has already declared himself the elected president. “The nation, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I acknowledge the tremendous effort undertaken by the councillors and the whole staff that ran the election. Honduras: I am ready to govern. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he stated.

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

The election board is made up of three members: one affiliated with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the progressive president, Xiomara Castro, whose candidate came in third place. Asfura’s win was declared only by the first two councillors.

The member associated with the president’s party refused to recognise the outcome, alleged that an “stolen election” was taking place and filed a legal challenge with the public prosecutor’s office, opening the possibility that the result will be contested in the judiciary.

In its statement, the council said: “By the majority will of the Honduran people, expressed sovereignly at the ballot box, the plenary session of the CNE proclaims 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 proclamation prior to the conclusion of the recount was the latest in a series of controversies that characterized the Central American country’s election campaign, beginning with what many saw as blatant meddling by the US president.

Shortly prior to the vote, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, said the US would back the next government only if he won, and attacked the other main contenders, calling them communists or associates of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.

On the night of the election, the US president also granted clemency for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura supporter 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, congratulated Asfura on social media. “The people of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates the elected president Asfura and anticipates collaborating with his administration to advance economic growth and safety in our region.”