Former US President-Endorsed Candidate Asfura Declared New President of the Central American Nation
Donald Trump-backed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was announced as the winner of Honduras’s presidential election after a vote count that dragged on for almost a month and was clouded by fraud allegations and criticism of meddling from the US president.
The conservative Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and ex-mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, compared to 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 votes.
The election authority declared a victor before completing the examination of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” launched last week to recount votes marked as “inconsistent”. The decision was criticised by defeated candidates and deplored by the OAS, which sent an observation mission to the poll held on 30 November.
Asfura has already declared himself president-elect. “The nation, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I recognise the tremendous effort carried out by the councillors and the entire team that administered the election. My fellow citizens: I am ready to govern. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.
Nasralla declined to accept defeat and posted a number of messages claiming manipulation in the tallying procedure, including “tampering with official records”, asserting that “the figures from the original tally sheets were changed”.
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 progressive president, Xiomara Castro, whose candidate came in third place. Asfura’s win was announced only by the first two councillors.
The member linked to the president’s party refused to recognise the outcome, alleged that an “stolen election” was under way and lodged a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office, raising the prospect that the outcome will be contested in court.
In its statement, the council said: “By the sovereign choice of the people of Honduras, expressed sovereignly 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 starting 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”
The declaration before the end of the review was the most recent in a series of disputes that marked the Central American country’s presidential race, starting with what many saw as open interference by the American head of state.
Shortly prior to the election, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, stated the US would support the next government only if he won, and attacked the other main contenders, calling them communists or associates of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.
On the eve of the election, the American leader also announced a pardon for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for allegedly establishing “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on a public platform. “The people of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” stated Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and looks forward to working with his administration to advance economic growth and security in our region.”
