Former US President-Endorsed Contender Asfura Proclaimed Incoming Head of State of Honduras

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 almost a month and was overshadowed by fraud allegations and criticism of meddling from the American leader.

The rightwing 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 votes.

The election authority proclaimed a winner prior to finishing the examination of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” launched last week to re-tally votes flagged as “irregular”. The decision was criticised by defeated candidates and deplored by the Organization of American States, 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 official declaration from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I acknowledge the great work undertaken 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 wrote.

Nasralla refused to concede and posted a series of statements claiming manipulation in the tallying procedure, including “tampering with official records”, claiming that “the data from the original tally sheets were changed”.

The election board is made up 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 finished third. 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 legal challenge with the public prosecutor’s office, opening the possibility that the outcome will be contested in the judiciary.

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 constitutional president of the Republic of Honduras for the four-year term starting 27 January 2026 and ending on 27 January 2030.”

The proclamation before the end of the review was the most recent in a series 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 vote, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, said the US would back the next government only if he won, and criticized the other main contenders, labeling them socialists or associates of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.

On the night of the election, the American leader also announced a pardon for the ex-leader of Honduras 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 US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on a public platform. “The people of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” stated Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and looks forward to working with his government to promote prosperity and security in our hemisphere.”