Former US President-Endorsed Candidate Asfura Proclaimed New Head of State of Honduras

Former President Trump-endorsed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the victor of Honduras’s presidential election following a ballot tally that dragged on for almost a month and was clouded by claims of irregularities and accusations of meddling from the American leader.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and former mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, obtained 40.27% of the vote, compared to 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 review of all vote records under a “extraordinary review” initiated last week to recount votes flagged as “irregular”. The decision was decried by defeated candidates and lamented by the Organization of American States, which deployed an observation mission to the poll held on 30 November.

Asfura has already declared himself the elected president. “The nation, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I acknowledge the great work undertaken by the members and the whole staff that administered the election. My fellow citizens: I am ready to govern. I will not let you down. 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”, asserting that “the figures from the original tally sheets were changed”.

The election board is composed of three members: one affiliated 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 victory was announced only by the initial pair of councillors.

The member associated with the president’s party rejected the outcome, alleged that an “electoral coup” was under way and filed a complaint with the attorney general, opening the possibility that the result will be contested in court.

In its statement, the council said: “By the sovereign choice of the people of Honduras, expressed sovereignly at the ballot box, the plenary session of the CNE proclaims Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah legitimate president of the Republic of Honduras for the presidential term beginning on 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”

The proclamation before the end of the recount was the latest in a string of disputes that marked the Central American country’s presidential race, starting with what many saw as open interference by the US president.

Days before the election, Trump publicly backed Asfura, stated the US would back the next government only if he won, and attacked the other leading candidates, labeling them communists or allies of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.

On the night of the election, the US president also granted clemency for the former Honduran president and Asfura supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for allegedly establishing “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 spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” stated Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to the elected president Asfura and looks forward to working with his administration to advance economic growth and security in our region.”