Former US President-Endorsed Contender Asfura Declared New Head of State of the Central American Nation
Former President Trump-endorsed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the victor of Honduras’s race for the presidency after a vote count that dragged on for almost a month and was overshadowed by fraud allegations and criticism of meddling from the American leader.
The rightwing Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and former mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, obtained 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 votes.
The election authority declared a victor before completing the examination of all vote records under a “special scrutiny” initiated last week to recount votes flagged as “irregular”. The decision was decried by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the Organization of American States, which sent an monitoring team to the poll 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 tremendous effort carried out by the councillors and the whole staff that ran the election. Honduras: I am prepared to lead. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he stated.
Nasralla declined to accept defeat and posted a number of messages 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 aligned 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 victory was declared only by the initial pair of councillors.
The representative linked to the president’s party rejected the result, claimed that an “electoral coup” was under way and lodged a legal challenge with the public prosecutor’s office, opening the possibility that the outcome will be challenged in court.
In its announcement, the council said: “By the sovereign choice of the Honduran people, expressed freely at the ballot box, the full council of the CNE declares Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah legitimate president of the Republic of Honduras for the four-year term starting 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”
The declaration before the end of the review was the most recent in a string of disputes that marked the Central American country’s election campaign, beginning with what many saw as open interference by the US president.
Shortly prior to the election, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, stated the US would back the next government only if he won, and criticized the other main contenders, calling them communists or allies 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 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,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and looks forward to collaborating with his administration to advance prosperity and safety in our region.”
