Trump-Backed Candidate Asfura Proclaimed Incoming Head of State of Honduras

Donald Trump-backed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was announced as the winner of Honduras’s race for the presidency following a vote count that dragged on for nearly four weeks and was overshadowed by claims of irregularities and accusations of meddling from the US president.

The conservative Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and ex-mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, obtained 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 ballots.

The electoral council declared a victor before completing the review of all tally sheets under a “extraordinary review” initiated last week to recount votes flagged as “irregular”. The move was criticised by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the OAS, which sent an monitoring team to the election held on 30 November.

Asfura has already declared himself the elected president. “The nation, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [electoral council]. I acknowledge the tremendous effort carried out by the councillors and the entire team that administered the election. Honduras: I am ready to govern. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he stated.

Nasralla declined to accept defeat and posted a series of statements alleging fraud in the counting process, including “tampering with official records”, asserting that “the figures from the original tally sheets were changed”.

The electoral council 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 nominee came in third place. Asfura’s win was announced only by the initial pair of councillors.

The member linked to the president’s party refused to recognise the outcome, alleged that an “electoral coup” was under way and lodged a complaint with the attorney general, raising the prospect that the outcome will be challenged in the judiciary.

In its announcement, the council declared: “By the majority will of the Honduran people, expressed sovereignly at the polls, the full council of the CNE proclaims Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah constitutional president of the Republic of Honduras for the four-year term starting 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”

The declaration before the end of the review was the most recent in a string of disputes that characterized the Central American country’s election campaign, beginning with what many saw as open interference by the US president.

Shortly prior to the election, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, stated the US would back the next government only if he won, and attacked the other leading candidates, labeling them communists or allies of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.

On the eve 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 creating “a major drug trafficking route to the United States”.

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on social media. “The citizens of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” said Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to president-elect Asfura and looks forward to working with his government to promote economic growth and safety in our region.”