Former US President-Endorsed Contender Asfura Proclaimed Incoming President of the Central American Nation
Former President Trump-endorsed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the victor of Honduras’s presidential election after a vote count that extended for nearly four weeks 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 city, Tegucigalpa, obtained 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 votes.
The election authority declared a victor before completing the examination of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” initiated last week to recount votes flagged as “inconsistent”. The move was decried by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the OAS, which deployed an observation mission to the poll 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 tremendous effort carried out by the members and the whole staff that administered the election. Honduras: I am prepared to lead. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he stated.
Nasralla refused to concede and posted a series of statements claiming manipulation in the counting process, including “forgery of public documents”, asserting that “the figures from the initial count sheets were changed”.
The electoral council is made up of three members: one affiliated with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the progressive president, Xiomara Castro, whose candidate finished third. Asfura’s victory was announced only by the first two councillors.
The representative linked to the president’s party rejected the result, claimed that an “electoral coup” was under way and filed a legal challenge with the public prosecutor’s office, opening the possibility that the outcome will be challenged in court.
In its announcement, the council said: “By the sovereign choice of the people of Honduras, expressed freely at the polls, the plenary session 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 declaration before the end of the review was the latest in a string of disputes that marked the Central American country’s election campaign, starting with what many saw as open interference by the American head of state.
Days before the election, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, stated the US would back the next government only if he won, and attacked the other main contenders, labeling them socialists or associates of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.
On the eve of the election, the American leader also granted clemency for the former Honduran president and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 45 years in prison for allegedly establishing “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on social media. “The citizens of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates the elected president Asfura and looks forward to working with his administration to advance prosperity and safety in our hemisphere.”