Trump-Backed Contender Asfura Proclaimed New Head of State of Honduras
Former President Trump-endorsed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the winner of Honduras’s race for the presidency after a vote count that dragged on for almost a month 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, against 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 ballots.
The electoral council declared a victor prior to finishing the review of all tally sheets under a “extraordinary review” launched last week to recount votes flagged as “irregular”. The move was decried by unsuccessful contenders 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 the elected president. “Honduras, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [electoral council]. I acknowledge the tremendous effort undertaken by the members and the entire team that administered the election. My fellow citizens: I am ready to govern. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.
Nasralla refused to concede and published a series of statements alleging fraud in the tallying procedure, including “tampering with official records”, claiming that “the figures from the initial count sheets were altered”.
The election board is made up of three councillors: one affiliated 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 first two councillors.
The member linked to the president’s party refused to recognise the result, alleged that an “stolen election” was under way and filed a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office, raising the prospect that the result will be challenged in court.
In its statement, the council declared: “By the majority will of the Honduran people, expressed freely at the polls, the plenary session of the CNE declares Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah constitutional president of the Republic of Honduras for the four-year term starting 27 January 2026 and ending on 27 January 2030.”
The declaration before the end of the review was the most recent in a string of disputes that characterized the Central American country’s presidential race, starting with what many saw as open interference by the US president.
Shortly prior to the vote, Trump publicly backed Asfura, said the US would support the next government only if he won, and criticized the other main contenders, labeling them socialists or associates of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.
On the night of the election, the US president also announced a pardon for the former Honduran president and Asfura supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 45 years in prison for reportedly creating “a major drug trafficking route to the United States”.
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on a public platform. “The citizens of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” stated Rubio. “The United States congratulates the elected president Asfura and anticipates collaborating with his administration to advance prosperity and security in our hemisphere.”
