Former US President-Endorsed Contender Asfura Declared New Head of State of Honduras

Former President Trump-endorsed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura was announced as the victor of Honduras’s race for the presidency following a vote count that dragged on for almost a month and was clouded by claims of irregularities and accusations of meddling from the US president.

The conservative Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and ex-mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, obtained 40.27% of the vote, compared to 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 ballots.

The electoral council proclaimed a winner 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 deplored by the Organization of American States, which sent an monitoring team to the election held on 30 November.

Asfura has already declared himself the elected president. “Honduras, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I acknowledge the great work carried out by the councillors and the whole staff that administered 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 series of statements alleging fraud in the tallying procedure, including “tampering with official records”, claiming that “the data from the initial count sheets were changed”.

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 progressive president, Xiomara Castro, whose nominee finished third. Asfura’s win was declared only by the first two councillors.

The member associated with the president’s party refused to recognise the outcome, alleged that an “electoral coup” was taking place and filed a legal challenge with the public prosecutor’s office, opening the possibility that the outcome will be contested in court.

In its announcement, the council declared: “By the majority will of the Honduran people, 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 presidential term starting 27 January 2026 and ending on 27 January 2030.”

The proclamation before the end of the review was the most recent in a string of controversies that characterized the Central American country’s election campaign, beginning with what many saw as open interference by the American head of state.

Days before the election, Trump publicly backed Asfura, said the US would support the next government only if he was victorious, and criticized the other main contenders, calling 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 supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 45 years in prison for reportedly 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’ next president,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and anticipates working with his government to advance economic growth and safety in our region.”