Former US President-Endorsed Contender Asfura Declared Incoming President of the Central American Nation
Donald Trump-backed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura was announced as the winner of Honduras’s presidential election after a vote count that extended for nearly four weeks and was marred by fraud allegations and criticism of meddling from the American leader.
The rightwing Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and former mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, secured 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 examination of all tally sheets under a “extraordinary review” launched last week to re-tally votes flagged as “irregular”. The move was decried by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the Organization of American States, which deployed an monitoring team to the election held on 30 November.
Asfura has proclaimed himself as president-elect. “Honduras, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [electoral council]. I acknowledge the great work carried out by the members and the whole staff that administered the election. My fellow citizens: I am ready to govern. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.
Nasralla declined to accept defeat and posted a series of statements alleging fraud in the tallying procedure, including “forgery of public documents”, asserting that “the data from the original tally sheets were altered”.
The electoral council is made up of three councillors: one affiliated with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the progressive president, Xiomara Castro, whose candidate came in third place. Asfura’s victory was declared only by the first two councillors.
The member linked to the president’s party refused to recognise the result, alleged that an “electoral coup” was taking place and filed a legal challenge with the attorney general, opening the possibility that the outcome will be contested in court.
In its statement, the council declared: “By the majority will of the people of Honduras, expressed freely 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 beginning on 27 January 2026 and ending on 27 January 2030.”
The proclamation before the end of the recount was the latest in a series of disputes that characterized the Central American country’s election campaign, starting with what many saw as open interference by the US president.
Shortly prior to the vote, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, stated the US would support the next government only if he was victorious, and attacked the other leading candidates, calling them communists or allies of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.
On the night of the election, the American leader also announced a pardon for the former Honduran president and Asfura supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for allegedly creating “a major drug trafficking route to the United States”.
The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on a public platform. “The people of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates the elected president Asfura and anticipates working with his government to advance economic growth and safety in our region.”
