Trump-Backed Candidate Asfura Proclaimed Incoming President of Honduras

Former President Trump-endorsed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the victor of Honduras’s race for the presidency following a ballot tally that extended for almost a month and was marred 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, Tegucigalpa, obtained 40.27% of the vote, compared to 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 votes.

The election authority proclaimed a winner prior to finishing the review of all vote records under a “extraordinary review” launched last week to recount votes marked as “irregular”. The move was criticised by defeated candidates and deplored by the Organization of American States, 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 [electoral council]. I acknowledge the great work carried out by the members and the whole staff that ran the election. Honduras: I am ready to govern. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.

Nasralla declined to accept defeat and posted a number of messages 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 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 initial pair of councillors.

The member linked to the president’s party refused to recognise the outcome, alleged that an “stolen election” was under way 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 announcement, the council said: “By the sovereign choice of the people of Honduras, expressed sovereignly at the ballot box, the full council of the CNE declares 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 proclamation before the end of the recount was the most recent in a series of controversies that characterized the Central American country’s election campaign, starting 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 main contenders, labeling them socialists or associates of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.

On the eve of the election, the US president also granted clemency for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for reportedly establishing “a major drug trafficking route to the United States”.

The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on social media. “The people of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” stated Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to president-elect Asfura and anticipates working with his government to promote prosperity and security in our hemisphere.”