Former US President-Endorsed Candidate Asfura Proclaimed New Head of State of the Central American Nation

Former President Trump-endorsed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the winner of Honduras’s race for the presidency after a ballot tally that extended for almost a month and was clouded by claims of irregularities and accusations of meddling from the American leader.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and former mayor of the capital, 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 proclaimed a winner before completing the examination of all tally sheets under a “extraordinary review” initiated last week to re-tally votes flagged as “irregular”. The move was decried by unsuccessful contenders and deplored by the Organization of American States, which deployed an observation mission to the election 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 acknowledge the tremendous effort undertaken 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 wrote.

Nasralla refused to concede and published a number of messages alleging fraud in the tallying procedure, including “tampering with official records”, asserting that “the data from the initial count sheets were changed”.

The electoral council is made up of three councillors: one affiliated with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the leftist president, Xiomara Castro, whose nominee finished third. Asfura’s win was declared only by the initial pair of councillors.

The representative associated with the president’s party refused to recognise the outcome, claimed that an “electoral coup” was under way and filed a legal challenge with the public prosecutor’s office, opening the possibility that the result will be contested in the judiciary.

In its announcement, the council said: “By the majority will of the people of Honduras, expressed freely at the polls, the plenary session of the CNE declares 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 latest in a series of disputes that marked the Central American country’s election campaign, beginning with what many saw as blatant meddling by the US president.

Shortly prior to the election, Trump publicly backed Asfura, stated the US would support the next government only if he was victorious, and criticized the other leading candidates, labeling them socialists or allies 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 reportedly establishing “a major drug trafficking route to the United States”.

The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on a public platform. “The people of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” stated Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and looks forward to collaborating with his administration to advance economic growth and security in our hemisphere.”