Trump-Backed Contender Asfura Proclaimed New Head of State of the Central American Nation
Donald Trump-backed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was announced as the winner of Honduras’s presidential election after a ballot tally that dragged on for almost a month and was clouded by fraud allegations and accusations of interference by 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 centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 ballots.
The election authority proclaimed a winner before completing the examination of all vote records under a “extraordinary review” launched last week to recount votes marked as “inconsistent”. The decision was decried 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 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. My fellow citizens: I am prepared to lead. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he stated.
Nasralla refused to concede and published a number of messages 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 councillors: one affiliated with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the leftist president, Xiomara Castro, whose candidate came in third place. Asfura’s victory was declared only by the initial pair of councillors.
The member linked to the president’s party rejected the outcome, claimed that an “stolen election” was taking place and filed a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office, raising the prospect that the result will be challenged in court.
In its statement, 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 concluding on 27 January 2030.”
The proclamation prior to the conclusion of the recount was the latest in a series of controversies that characterized the Central American country’s presidential race, beginning 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 back the next government only if he won, and attacked the other leading candidates, labeling them socialists 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 supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 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 social media. “The citizens of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” said Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to president-elect Asfura and looks forward to working with his government to advance economic growth and safety in our hemisphere.”
