Former US President-Endorsed Contender Asfura Declared New Head of State of Honduras

Donald Trump-backed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the victor of Honduras’s race for the presidency after a ballot tally that extended for nearly four weeks and was marred by fraud allegations and criticism of meddling from the US president.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and former mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 ballots.

The electoral council proclaimed a winner before completing the examination of all vote records under a “extraordinary review” initiated last week to recount votes marked as “inconsistent”. The decision was decried by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the OAS, which sent an monitoring team to the election held on 30 November.

Asfura has already declared himself the elected president. “Honduras, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [electoral council]. I acknowledge 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 let you down. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.

Nasralla declined to accept defeat and posted a number of messages claiming manipulation in the counting process, including “forgery of public documents”, claiming that “the figures from the initial count sheets were altered”.

The electoral council is made up of three members: one aligned 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 declared only by the initial pair of councillors.

The representative associated with the president’s party refused to recognise the outcome, claimed that an “electoral coup” was taking place and lodged a legal challenge with the attorney general, opening the possibility that the outcome will be challenged in the judiciary.

In its announcement, the council said: “By the majority will of the people of Honduras, expressed freely at the ballot box, the plenary session of the CNE declares Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah legitimate president of the Republic of Honduras for the four-year term beginning on 27 January 2026 and ending on 27 January 2030.”

The declaration before the end of the review was the latest in a string of disputes that marked the Central American country’s election campaign, starting with what many saw as open interference by the American head of state.

Shortly prior to the election, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, stated the US would back the next government only if he was victorious, and attacked the other leading candidates, calling them socialists or allies of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.

On the eve of the election, the American leader also announced a pardon for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for allegedly creating “a major drug trafficking route to the United States”.

The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on social media. “The citizens of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and anticipates collaborating with his administration to advance prosperity and safety in our hemisphere.”