Former US President-Endorsed Candidate Asfura Declared New Head of State of the Central American Nation

Donald Trump-backed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the victor of Honduras’s race for the presidency after a vote count that dragged on for almost a month and was marred by claims of irregularities and criticism of meddling from the American leader.

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 moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 ballots.

The election authority declared a victor prior to finishing the review of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” launched last week to re-tally votes marked as “inconsistent”. The move was decried by unsuccessful contenders and deplored by the OAS, which deployed an observation mission to the election held on 30 November.

Asfura has already declared himself president-elect. “The nation, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [electoral council]. I acknowledge the tremendous effort undertaken by the members and the whole staff that ran the election. My fellow citizens: I am ready to govern. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he stated.

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

The electoral council is composed of three members: 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 announced only by the initial pair of councillors.

The member linked to the president’s party refused to recognise the result, claimed 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 challenged in court.

In its statement, the council declared: “By the sovereign choice of the people of Honduras, expressed freely at the ballot box, the full council of the CNE declares Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah legitimate president of the Republic of Honduras for the four-year term starting 27 January 2026 and ending on 27 January 2030.”

The declaration prior to the conclusion of the recount was the most recent in a string of disputes that marked the Central American country’s election campaign, beginning with what many saw as blatant meddling by the US president.

Days before the vote, Trump publicly backed Asfura, stated the US would back the next government only if he was victorious, and criticized the other leading candidates, calling them communists or associates of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.

On the night of the election, the US president also announced a pardon for the former Honduran president and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 45 years in prison for reportedly creating “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.

The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on social media. “The citizens of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” stated Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and anticipates collaborating with his administration to promote economic growth and security in our hemisphere.”