Trump-Backed Candidate Asfura Declared Incoming Head of State of Honduras
Former President Trump-endorsed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the winner of Honduras’s race for the presidency following a ballot tally that extended for nearly four weeks and was clouded by claims of irregularities and criticism of meddling from the American leader.
The rightwing Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and former mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, compared to 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 ballots.
The electoral council declared a victor prior to finishing the review of all vote records under a “special scrutiny” launched last week to re-tally votes marked as “irregular”. The decision was criticised by defeated candidates and lamented by the Organization of American States, which sent an monitoring team to the election held on 30 November.
Asfura has proclaimed himself as president-elect. “The nation, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I recognise the great work carried out by the councillors and the whole staff that administered the election. My fellow citizens: I am prepared to lead. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.
Nasralla declined to accept defeat and posted a series of statements claiming manipulation in the tallying procedure, including “forgery of public documents”, asserting that “the figures from the original tally sheets were changed”.
The election board is composed 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 finished third. Asfura’s victory was announced only by the initial pair of councillors.
The representative associated with the president’s party refused to recognise the result, alleged that an “stolen election” was under way and filed a legal challenge with the attorney general, raising the prospect that the outcome will be contested in the judiciary.
In its announcement, the council said: “By the majority will of the people of Honduras, expressed sovereignly at the polls, the full council of the CNE proclaims Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah constitutional president of the Republic of Honduras for the presidential term starting 27 January 2026 and ending on 27 January 2030.”
The proclamation before the end of the review was the latest in a string of controversies that marked the Central American country’s election campaign, beginning with what many saw as blatant meddling by the American head of state.
Days before 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, calling them socialists or allies of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.
On the night of the election, the US president also announced a pardon for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for allegedly 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’ next president,” stated Rubio. “The United States congratulates the elected president Asfura and looks forward to collaborating with his government to advance economic growth and security in our region.”