Trump-Backed Contender Asfura Declared Incoming President of the Central American Nation
Former President Trump-endorsed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the victor of Honduras’s presidential election following a ballot tally that extended for nearly four weeks and was clouded by claims of irregularities and accusations of meddling from the American leader.
The conservative Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and ex-mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 votes.
The electoral council declared a victor prior to finishing the examination of all vote records under a “extraordinary review” initiated last week to re-tally votes flagged as “inconsistent”. The move was criticised by defeated candidates and deplored by the Organization of American States, which sent an observation mission to the poll held on 30 November.
Asfura has proclaimed himself as the elected president. “Honduras, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I recognise the great work carried out by the members and the entire team that ran 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 series of statements alleging fraud in the tallying procedure, including “forgery of public documents”, claiming that “the data from the original tally sheets were changed”.
The election board is made up of three members: one aligned with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the leftist president, Xiomara Castro, whose nominee came in third place. Asfura’s win was declared only by the first two councillors.
The member associated with the president’s party refused to recognise the outcome, alleged that an “electoral coup” was under way and lodged a legal challenge with the public prosecutor’s office, opening the possibility that the result will be contested in court.
In its statement, the council said: “By the majority will of the people of Honduras, expressed freely at the polls, the plenary session of the CNE proclaims 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 before the end of the review was the most recent in a string of controversies 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, stated the US would back 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 major drug trafficking route to the United States”.
The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on a public platform. “The people of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” stated Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to president-elect Asfura and anticipates working with his government to advance prosperity and security in our region.”
