Trump-Backed Contender Asfura Proclaimed New President of Honduras

Former President Trump-endorsed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the winner of Honduras’s presidential election after a ballot tally that extended for nearly four weeks and was marred by claims of irregularities and criticism of interference by the US president.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and ex-mayor of the capital city, 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 prior to finishing the examination of all vote records under a “extraordinary review” launched last week to re-tally votes flagged as “inconsistent”. The move was criticised by unsuccessful contenders and deplored by the OAS, which sent an monitoring team 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 [electoral council]. I recognise the great work undertaken by the councillors and the whole staff that administered the election. Honduras: I am prepared to lead. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he stated.

Nasralla declined to accept defeat and posted a number of messages alleging fraud in the counting process, including “forgery of public documents”, asserting that “the data from the initial count sheets were changed”.

The electoral council 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 nominee finished third. Asfura’s win was declared only by the first two councillors.

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

In its statement, the council declared: “By the sovereign choice 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 ending on 27 January 2030.”

The proclamation before the end of the recount was the latest in a series of disputes that characterized the Central American country’s election campaign, beginning with what many saw as open interference by the American head of state.

Days before the election, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, said the US would support the next government only if he was victorious, and criticized the other main contenders, labeling them communists or allies 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 ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for reportedly creating “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on a public platform. “The citizens of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” said Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to president-elect Asfura and looks forward to collaborating with his government to advance economic growth and safety in our hemisphere.”