Trump-Backed Candidate Asfura Declared Incoming President of the Central American Nation
Former President Trump-endorsed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the winner of Honduras’s presidential election following a vote count that extended for almost a month and was marred by claims of irregularities and accusations of meddling from the American leader.
The rightwing Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and former mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, compared to 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 ballots.
The electoral council declared a victor before completing the review of all vote records under a “special scrutiny” initiated last week to recount votes marked as “inconsistent”. The move was criticised by defeated candidates and lamented by the OAS, which sent an observation mission to the election held on 30 November.
Asfura has proclaimed himself as president-elect. “Honduras, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [electoral council]. I recognise the great work carried out by the councillors and the whole staff that ran the election. My fellow citizens: I am prepared to lead. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he stated.
Nasralla refused to concede and posted a series of statements alleging fraud in the counting process, including “forgery of public documents”, claiming that “the data from the initial count sheets were changed”.
The election board is made up of three councillors: one aligned with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the leftist president, Xiomara Castro, whose candidate finished third. Asfura’s victory was declared only by the first two councillors.
The representative linked to the president’s party refused to recognise the outcome, claimed that an “electoral coup” was taking place and filed a legal challenge with the attorney general, raising the prospect that the outcome will be challenged in court.
In its announcement, the council said: “By the majority will of the Honduran people, expressed sovereignly at the ballot box, the plenary session of the CNE proclaims Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah constitutional president of the Republic of Honduras for the presidential term starting 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”
The declaration prior to the conclusion of the recount was the latest in a string of disputes that marked the Central American country’s presidential race, beginning with what many saw as blatant meddling by the US president.
Shortly prior to the vote, Trump publicly backed Asfura, stated the US would support the next government only if he won, and criticized the other leading candidates, labeling them communists or associates of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, 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 establishing “a major drug trafficking route to the United States”.
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on social media. “The citizens of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates the elected president Asfura and looks forward to working with his government to promote economic growth and security in our region.”