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 winner of Honduras’s race for the presidency following a ballot tally that extended for nearly four weeks and was marred by fraud allegations and accusations of interference by the American leader.
The rightwing Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and former mayor of the capital, 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 election authority declared a victor prior to finishing the examination of all vote records under a “extraordinary review” launched last week to recount votes flagged as “irregular”. The move was criticised by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the OAS, which deployed an monitoring team to the election held on 30 November.
Asfura has already declared himself the elected president. “The nation, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I recognise the great work undertaken by the members and the entire team that administered the election. My fellow citizens: I am prepared to lead. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he stated.
Nasralla refused to concede and published a number of messages claiming manipulation in the counting process, including “forgery of public documents”, asserting that “the data from the original tally sheets were changed”.
The electoral council is made up of three councillors: 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 win was announced only by the first two councillors.
The member associated with the president’s party rejected the result, alleged that an “electoral coup” was taking place and filed a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office, raising the prospect that the outcome will be contested in the judiciary.
In its statement, the council declared: “By the majority will of the Honduran people, 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 presidential term beginning on 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”
The declaration prior to the conclusion of the recount was the latest in a series of disputes that marked the Central American country’s presidential race, starting with what many saw as blatant meddling by the American head of state.
Days before the election, Trump publicly backed Asfura, stated the US would support the next government only if he won, and attacked the other main contenders, labeling them communists or allies of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.
On the eve of the election, the US president 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 allegedly creating “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.
The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on social media. “The citizens of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and anticipates working with his administration to promote economic growth and security in our region.”
