Former US President-Endorsed Contender Asfura Declared Incoming Head of State of the Central American Nation

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

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

The electoral council proclaimed a winner prior to finishing the examination of all vote records under a “special scrutiny” launched last week to recount votes marked as “inconsistent”. The move was decried by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the OAS, which deployed an observation mission to the poll held on 30 November.

Asfura has already declared himself president-elect. “The nation, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [electoral council]. I acknowledge the tremendous effort carried out by the members and the entire team that ran the election. Honduras: I am ready to govern. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he stated.

Nasralla declined to accept defeat and published a series of statements alleging fraud in the counting process, including “tampering with official records”, claiming that “the figures from the original tally 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 nominee came in third place. Asfura’s win was announced only by the first two councillors.

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

In its statement, the council declared: “By the majority will of the Honduran people, expressed freely at the polls, the full council of the CNE declares 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 prior to the conclusion of the review was the latest 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.

Shortly prior to the election, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, said the US would back the next government only if he was victorious, and attacked the other leading candidates, labeling them socialists or associates of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.

On the night of the election, the American leader also granted clemency for the former Honduran president and Asfura supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 45 years in prison for reportedly establishing “a major drug trafficking route 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’ incoming leader,” stated Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to the elected president Asfura and looks forward to working with his government to advance economic growth and safety in our hemisphere.”