Former US President-Endorsed Candidate Asfura Proclaimed New Head of State of Honduras

Former President Trump-endorsed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura was announced as the winner of Honduras’s presidential election after a ballot tally that dragged on for nearly four weeks and was clouded by claims of irregularities and accusations of meddling from the American leader.

The conservative Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and former mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, obtained 40.27% of the vote, compared to 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 ballots.

The electoral council declared a victor before completing the examination of all tally sheets under a “extraordinary review” launched last week to recount votes marked as “inconsistent”. The move was criticised by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the OAS, which deployed an observation mission to the poll held on 30 November.

Asfura has proclaimed himself as 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 whole staff that ran the election. My fellow citizens: I am ready to govern. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he stated.

Nasralla refused to concede and posted a series of statements claiming manipulation in the counting process, including “forgery of public documents”, asserting that “the data from the initial count sheets were altered”.

The electoral council is made up of three members: one aligned 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 win was announced only by the initial pair of councillors.

The representative associated with the president’s party rejected the outcome, claimed that an “stolen election” was under way and filed a complaint with the attorney general, raising the prospect that the outcome will be challenged in the judiciary.

In its statement, the council said: “By the sovereign choice of the Honduran people, expressed freely at the polls, the plenary session of the CNE proclaims Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah legitimate president of the Republic of Honduras for the presidential term beginning on 27 January 2026 and ending on 27 January 2030.”

The proclamation before the end of the review was the most recent in a string of disputes that marked the Central American country’s presidential race, starting with what many saw as open interference by the US president.

Shortly prior to the election, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, said the US would back the next government only if he won, and attacked the other main contenders, 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 ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for allegedly establishing “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.

The American top diplomat, 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 congratulates the elected president Asfura and looks forward to working with his government to promote prosperity and security in our region.”