Former US President-Endorsed Contender Asfura Declared Incoming Head of State of the Central American Nation

Donald Trump-backed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura was announced as the victor of Honduras’s race for the presidency after a ballot tally that extended for nearly four weeks and was clouded by fraud allegations and criticism of meddling from the American leader.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and ex-mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 ballots.

The electoral council proclaimed a winner before completing the review of all tally sheets under a “extraordinary review” launched last week to recount votes flagged as “inconsistent”. The decision was decried by defeated candidates and lamented by the OAS, which deployed an observation mission to the election held on 30 November.

Asfura has proclaimed himself as the elected president. “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. Honduras: I am prepared to lead. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he stated.

Nasralla refused to concede and published a series of statements claiming manipulation in the counting process, including “tampering with official records”, claiming that “the data from the original tally sheets were altered”.

The electoral council is made up 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 candidate came in third place. Asfura’s victory was declared only by the initial pair of councillors.

The member associated with the president’s party refused to recognise the outcome, claimed that an “electoral coup” was taking place and filed a complaint with the attorney general, opening the possibility that the outcome will be challenged in the judiciary.

In its announcement, the council declared: “By the sovereign choice of the Honduran people, expressed sovereignly at the ballot box, the plenary session of the CNE proclaims Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah legitimate president of the Republic of Honduras for the presidential term starting 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”

The declaration before the end of the review was the most recent in a series of disputes that characterized the Central American country’s election campaign, starting with what many saw as blatant meddling by the American head of state.

Days before the vote, Trump openly endorsed 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 American leader also granted clemency for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 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 social media. “The citizens of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and looks forward to working with his administration to promote prosperity and safety in our hemisphere.”