Trump-Backed Contender Asfura Proclaimed New Head of State of the Central American Nation
Donald Trump-backed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the winner of Honduras’s presidential election after a ballot tally that extended for nearly four weeks and was clouded by fraud allegations and criticism of interference by the US president.
The rightwing Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and former mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 votes.
The election authority proclaimed a winner prior to finishing the review of all tally sheets under a “extraordinary review” launched last week to re-tally votes marked as “inconsistent”. The decision was criticised by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the OAS, which sent an observation mission to the poll held on 30 November.
Asfura has already declared himself the elected president. “Honduras, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I acknowledge the great work undertaken by the councillors and the entire team that ran the election. Honduras: I am prepared to lead. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he stated.
Nasralla refused to concede and posted a number of messages alleging fraud in the counting process, including “forgery of public documents”, asserting that “the data from the original tally sheets were changed”.
The electoral council is made up of three members: one aligned with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the progressive 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 refused to recognise the result, alleged that an “stolen election” was under way and filed a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office, opening the possibility that the result will be challenged in court.
In its statement, the council said: “By the sovereign choice 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 starting 27 January 2026 and ending on 27 January 2030.”
The declaration prior to the conclusion of the recount was the latest in a string of disputes that characterized the Central American country’s election campaign, starting with what many saw as open interference by the US president.
Days before the vote, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, said the US would support the next government only if he was victorious, and attacked the other leading candidates, 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 supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 45 years in prison for reportedly 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 people of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” said Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to president-elect Asfura and anticipates working with his administration to promote economic growth and security in our hemisphere.”
