Former US President-Endorsed 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 following a vote count that extended for almost a month and was clouded by fraud allegations and accusations of meddling from the American leader.
The conservative Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and former mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 ballots.
The election authority declared a victor prior to finishing the review of all vote records under a “extraordinary review” initiated last week to re-tally votes flagged as “inconsistent”. 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 president-elect. “Honduras, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I recognise the tremendous effort undertaken by the councillors and the entire team that ran the election. My fellow citizens: I am ready to govern. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.
Nasralla refused to concede and posted a series of statements alleging fraud in the tallying procedure, including “forgery of public documents”, claiming that “the figures from the original tally sheets were altered”.
The electoral council 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 candidate finished third. Asfura’s win was announced only by the first two councillors.
The representative associated with the president’s party rejected 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 outcome will be challenged in court.
In its statement, the council said: “By the majority will of the Honduran people, expressed sovereignly at the polls, the plenary session of the CNE proclaims Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah legitimate president of the Republic of Honduras for the four-year term beginning on 27 January 2026 and ending on 27 January 2030.”
The proclamation prior to the conclusion of the recount was the most recent in a string of disputes that characterized the Central American country’s presidential race, beginning with what many saw as blatant meddling by the US president.
Days before the vote, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, stated the US would back the next government only if he won, and criticized the other leading candidates, calling them communists or associates of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.
On the eve of the election, the American leader also announced a pardon for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 45 years in prison for reportedly establishing “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on social media. “The citizens of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” stated Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to the elected president Asfura and anticipates collaborating with his administration to advance prosperity and security in our region.”
