Former US President-Endorsed Candidate Asfura Declared Incoming President of the Central American Nation

Former President Trump-endorsed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the victor of Honduras’s presidential election after a ballot tally that extended for nearly four weeks and was clouded by fraud allegations and criticism of interference by the American leader.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and former mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, obtained 40.27% of the vote, compared to 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 votes.

The electoral council declared a victor prior to finishing the review of all vote records under a “special scrutiny” initiated last week to re-tally votes marked as “inconsistent”. The move was criticised by unsuccessful contenders and deplored by the OAS, which deployed an monitoring team to the poll held on 30 November.

Asfura has proclaimed himself as the elected president. “Honduras, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I acknowledge the great work undertaken by the members and the entire team that ran the election. Honduras: 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 claiming manipulation in the tallying procedure, including “tampering with official records”, claiming that “the data from the original tally sheets were altered”.

The electoral council is composed of three members: one aligned with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the leftist president, Xiomara Castro, whose nominee finished third. Asfura’s victory was declared only by the first two councillors.

The member linked to the president’s party rejected the result, alleged that an “electoral coup” was taking place and lodged 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 sovereignly at the polls, the full council of the CNE proclaims 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 proclamation prior to the conclusion of the review was the latest in a string of controversies that marked the Central American country’s election campaign, beginning with what many saw as blatant meddling by the American head of state.

Shortly prior to the vote, Trump publicly backed Asfura, said the US would support the next government only if he was victorious, and attacked the other main contenders, calling them communists or associates of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, 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 sentenced 45 years in prison for allegedly establishing “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.

The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on social media. “The people of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and looks forward to collaborating with his government to promote prosperity and security in our region.”