Trump-Backed Contender Asfura Declared New Head of State of the Central American Nation
Former President Trump-endorsed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura was announced as the victor of Honduras’s presidential election following a ballot tally that extended for nearly four weeks and was marred by claims of irregularities and criticism of meddling from the American leader.
The conservative Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and former mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 ballots.
The electoral council declared a victor before completing the review of all tally sheets under a “extraordinary review” launched last week to recount votes flagged as “irregular”. The decision was criticised by defeated candidates and deplored by the OAS, which sent an monitoring team to the poll held on 30 November.
Asfura has proclaimed himself as the elected president. “Honduras, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [electoral council]. I acknowledge the great work undertaken by the councillors and the entire team that ran the election. My fellow citizens: I am ready to govern. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.
Nasralla refused to concede and published a series of statements claiming manipulation in the counting process, including “tampering with official records”, claiming that “the figures from the original tally sheets were changed”.
The election board is composed of three members: one aligned with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the progressive president, Xiomara Castro, whose nominee finished third. Asfura’s victory was declared only by the initial pair of councillors.
The representative associated with the president’s party refused to recognise the outcome, claimed that an “stolen election” was under way and filed a legal challenge with the attorney general, raising the prospect that the outcome will be challenged in the judiciary.
In its announcement, the council declared: “By the majority will of the people of Honduras, expressed freely at the ballot box, the plenary session of the CNE proclaims Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah legitimate president of the Republic of Honduras for the four-year term beginning on 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”
The proclamation before the end of the recount was the latest in a series of disputes that marked 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 publicly backed Asfura, stated the US would back the next government only if he was victorious, and attacked the other main contenders, calling them socialists or allies of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.
On the eve of the election, the American leader also announced a pardon for the former Honduran president and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for reportedly creating “a major drug trafficking route to the United States”.
The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on a public platform. “The people of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” said Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to president-elect Asfura and looks forward to working with his administration to advance economic growth and security in our hemisphere.”
