Trump-Backed Contender Asfura Declared New Head of State of Honduras

Former President Trump-endorsed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was announced as the victor of Honduras’s race for the presidency after a ballot tally that extended for nearly four weeks and was clouded by fraud allegations and criticism of meddling from the American leader.

The conservative Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and ex-mayor of the capital city, 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 review of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” launched last week to recount votes marked as “irregular”. The decision was decried by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the OAS, which deployed an monitoring team to the poll held on 30 November.

Asfura has proclaimed himself as president-elect. “The nation, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [electoral council]. I acknowledge the tremendous effort 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 wrote.

Nasralla refused to concede and posted a series of statements alleging fraud in the tallying procedure, including “forgery of public documents”, asserting that “the figures from the original tally sheets were changed”.

The electoral council 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 announced only by the initial pair of councillors.

The representative linked to the president’s party rejected the outcome, claimed that an “stolen election” was taking place and filed a legal challenge with the attorney general, opening the possibility that the result will be challenged in court.

In its statement, the council declared: “By the sovereign choice of the Honduran people, expressed freely at the ballot box, the plenary session of the CNE declares Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah constitutional president of the Republic of Honduras for the presidential term starting 27 January 2026 and ending on 27 January 2030.”

The declaration prior to the conclusion of the recount was the most recent in a string of disputes that marked the Central American country’s election campaign, starting with what many saw as blatant meddling by the US president.

Days before the vote, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, stated the US would support the next government only if he won, and attacked the other leading candidates, labeling them communists or associates of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.

On the eve of the election, the American leader also granted clemency 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 US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on social media. “The citizens of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” stated Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to the elected president Asfura and looks forward to collaborating with his government to promote economic growth and security in our hemisphere.”