Former US President-Endorsed Candidate Asfura Proclaimed New Head of State of the Central American Nation
Donald Trump-backed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the victor of Honduras’s presidential election after a ballot tally that dragged on for nearly four weeks and was clouded by claims of irregularities and criticism of interference by the US president.
The conservative Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and former mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, obtained 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 ballots.
The election authority declared a victor prior to finishing the examination of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” initiated last week to re-tally votes flagged as “inconsistent”. The move was criticised by defeated candidates and lamented by the OAS, which sent an monitoring team to the election held on 30 November.
Asfura has already declared himself president-elect. “Honduras, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [electoral council]. I acknowledge the great work carried out by the members and the entire team that ran the election. Honduras: I am prepared to lead. 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 tallying procedure, including “forgery of public documents”, claiming that “the data 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 nominee 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 outcome, claimed that an “electoral coup” was taking place and filed a legal challenge with the public prosecutor’s office, raising the prospect that the result will be contested in the judiciary.
In its announcement, the council said: “By the sovereign choice of the Honduran people, 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 beginning on 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”
The declaration before the end of the recount was the most recent in a series of disputes that characterized the Central American country’s presidential race, beginning with what many saw as blatant meddling by the American head of state.
Days before the election, 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 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 allegedly 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’ next president,” stated Rubio. “The United States congratulates the elected president Asfura and anticipates working with his administration to advance prosperity and safety in our region.”
