Trump-Backed Candidate Asfura Declared Incoming Head of State of Honduras

Former President Trump-endorsed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura was announced as the victor of Honduras’s race for the presidency following a vote count that dragged on for nearly four weeks and was clouded by fraud allegations and accusations of meddling from the American leader.

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

The election authority declared a victor prior to finishing the examination of all tally sheets under a “extraordinary review” initiated last week to recount votes marked as “inconsistent”. The move was decried by unsuccessful contenders and deplored by the OAS, which sent 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 recognise the great work undertaken by the councillors and the whole staff that ran the election. My fellow citizens: I am ready to govern. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.

Nasralla declined to accept defeat and published a series of statements alleging fraud in the tallying procedure, including “tampering with official records”, asserting that “the figures from the initial count sheets were altered”.

The electoral council is made up of three members: one affiliated 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 win was announced only by the first two councillors.

The member associated with the president’s party rejected the result, claimed that an “electoral coup” was under way and filed a legal challenge with the attorney general, opening the possibility that the result will be contested in the judiciary.

In its announcement, the council declared: “By the majority will of the people of Honduras, expressed freely at the polls, the plenary session 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 prior to the conclusion of the recount was the most recent in a string of controversies that characterized 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, stated the US would support the next government only if he won, and attacked the other main contenders, labeling them socialists or allies 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 sentenced 45 years in prison for reportedly establishing “a major drug trafficking route 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,” said Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to president-elect Asfura and anticipates collaborating with his government to advance economic growth and security in our region.”