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 race for the presidency after a vote count that extended for nearly four weeks and was clouded by fraud allegations and accusations of interference by the US president.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and former mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, obtained 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 ballots.

The electoral council declared a victor prior to finishing the examination of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” initiated last week to recount votes marked as “inconsistent”. The decision was decried by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the OAS, which deployed an observation mission to the election 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 recognise the great work undertaken by the councillors and the entire team that ran the election. Honduras: I am ready to govern. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he stated.

Nasralla declined to accept defeat and published a number of messages alleging fraud in the counting process, including “tampering with official records”, asserting that “the figures 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 progressive president, Xiomara Castro, whose candidate came in third place. Asfura’s victory was declared only by the initial pair of councillors.

The member associated with the president’s party refused to recognise the result, claimed that an “electoral coup” was taking place and lodged a legal challenge with the public prosecutor’s office, raising the prospect that the outcome will be contested in court.

In its announcement, the council said: “By the majority will of the Honduran people, expressed freely at the ballot box, the full council of the CNE proclaims Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah legitimate president of the Republic of Honduras for the presidential term starting 27 January 2026 and ending on 27 January 2030.”

The declaration before the end of the recount was the latest in a series of controversies that characterized the Central American country’s election campaign, beginning with what many saw as open interference by the American head of state.

Days before the election, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, stated the US would support the next government only if he won, and attacked the other main contenders, labeling them socialists or allies of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.

On the eve of the election, the US president also granted clemency for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 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 people of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” stated Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to the elected president Asfura and anticipates working with his government to promote economic growth and safety in our hemisphere.”