Trump-Backed Candidate Asfura Declared Incoming President of Honduras

Former President Trump-endorsed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was announced as the winner of Honduras’s race for the presidency after a ballot tally that dragged on for almost a month and was overshadowed by claims of irregularities and criticism of interference by the American leader.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and ex-mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 ballots.

The electoral council declared a victor before completing the examination of all vote records under a “special scrutiny” initiated last week to recount votes marked as “inconsistent”. The move was decried by defeated candidates and lamented by the OAS, which sent an observation mission to the election held on 30 November.

Asfura has already declared himself president-elect. “Honduras, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I recognise the great work undertaken by the councillors and the whole staff that administered the election. My fellow citizens: I am ready to govern. 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 “tampering with official records”, asserting that “the figures from the initial count sheets were altered”.

The election board is made up of three members: one affiliated with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the leftist president, Xiomara Castro, whose candidate finished third. Asfura’s win was announced only by the initial pair of councillors.

The representative associated with the president’s party rejected the outcome, alleged that an “electoral coup” was taking place and lodged a complaint with the attorney general, opening the possibility that the outcome will be challenged in court.

In its statement, the council said: “By the majority will of the Honduran people, expressed sovereignly at the ballot box, the full council 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 declaration 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 blatant meddling by the US president.

Days before the vote, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, said the US would back the next government only if he was victorious, and attacked the other leading candidates, calling them socialists or associates of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.

On the night of the election, the American leader also granted clemency for the former Honduran president and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 45 years in prison for allegedly creating “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.

The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on social media. “The people of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” said Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to the elected president Asfura and anticipates collaborating with his government to promote prosperity and security in our hemisphere.”