Former US President-Endorsed Candidate Asfura Declared New President of Honduras

Donald Trump-backed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the victor of Honduras’s presidential election following a ballot tally that extended for almost a month and was marred by fraud allegations and criticism of interference by the US president.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and ex-mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, obtained 40.27% of the vote, compared to 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 votes.

The electoral council proclaimed a winner before completing the examination of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” initiated last week to re-tally votes flagged as “inconsistent”. The move was decried by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the Organization of American States, which sent an monitoring team to the poll held on 30 November.

Asfura has already declared himself president-elect. “The nation, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I acknowledge the great work undertaken by the members and the entire team that administered the election. My fellow citizens: I am ready to govern. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.

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

The election board is composed of three councillors: 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 victory was declared only by the first two councillors.

The representative associated with 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, opening the possibility that the result will be contested in the judiciary.

In its statement, the council declared: “By the majority will of the Honduran people, expressed sovereignly at the polls, the full council of the CNE declares 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 latest 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 support the next government only if he was victorious, and criticized the other leading candidates, labeling them communists or allies of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.

On the eve of the election, the American leader 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 creating “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on a public platform. “The citizens of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” stated Rubio. “The United States congratulates the elected president Asfura and looks forward to collaborating with his government to promote prosperity and security in our region.”