Trump-Backed Candidate Asfura Proclaimed Incoming President of Honduras
Donald Trump-backed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the winner of Honduras’s presidential election following a ballot tally that dragged on for nearly four weeks and was clouded by claims of irregularities and accusations of interference by the US president.
The rightwing Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and former mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, compared to 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 ballots.
The election authority declared a victor prior to finishing the examination of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” initiated last week to recount votes flagged as “inconsistent”. The move was criticised by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the Organization of American States, which sent an observation mission to the election held on 30 November.
Asfura has proclaimed himself as the elected president. “The nation, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I recognise the tremendous effort undertaken by the members 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 refused to concede and posted a series of statements alleging fraud in the tallying procedure, including “forgery of public documents”, claiming that “the data from the original tally sheets were altered”.
The electoral council is made up 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 win was announced only by the first two councillors.
The member linked to the president’s party refused to recognise the result, claimed that an “electoral coup” was under way and lodged a legal challenge with the attorney general, raising the prospect that the result will be challenged in the judiciary.
In its statement, the council declared: “By the majority will of the people of Honduras, expressed sovereignly at the ballot box, the full council of the CNE declares Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah constitutional president of the Republic of Honduras for the presidential term beginning on 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”
The proclamation prior to the conclusion of the recount was the latest in a string of disputes that characterized 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, said the US would support the next government only if he won, and attacked the other main contenders, calling 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 cocaine superhighway to the United States”.
The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on a public platform. “The people of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates the elected president Asfura and anticipates working with his government to promote prosperity and security in our region.”
