Former US President-Endorsed Candidate Asfura Proclaimed 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 vote count that extended for nearly four weeks and was clouded by claims of irregularities and accusations of meddling from the American leader.

The conservative Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and former mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 votes.

The election authority proclaimed a winner prior to finishing the examination of all vote records under a “extraordinary review” initiated last week to recount votes marked as “inconsistent”. The move was criticised by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the OAS, which sent an observation mission to the election held on 30 November.

Asfura has proclaimed himself as the elected president. “Honduras, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I recognise the great work undertaken by the councillors and the entire team 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 published a series of statements alleging fraud in the tallying procedure, including “tampering with official records”, claiming that “the data from the original tally 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 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 result, claimed that an “electoral coup” was taking place and filed a legal challenge with the public prosecutor’s office, raising the prospect that the result will be challenged in the judiciary.

In its announcement, the council declared: “By the majority will of the people of Honduras, expressed sovereignly at the ballot box, the full council of the CNE proclaims Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah legitimate president of the Republic of Honduras for the four-year term beginning on 27 January 2026 and ending on 27 January 2030.”

The declaration prior to the conclusion of the recount was the most recent in a series of disputes 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, stated the US would support the next government only if he won, and attacked the other leading candidates, labeling them socialists or associates of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.

On the eve of the election, the US president also announced a pardon for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura supporter 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 citizens of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” said Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to the elected president Asfura and anticipates collaborating with his administration to promote prosperity and safety in our region.”