Former US President-Endorsed Candidate Asfura Declared Incoming Head of State of Honduras
Donald Trump-backed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was announced as the winner of Honduras’s presidential election after a ballot tally that extended for nearly four weeks and was overshadowed by fraud allegations and accusations of meddling from the American leader.
The rightwing Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and former mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, compared to 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 votes.
The election authority declared a victor before completing the review of all vote records under a “special scrutiny” initiated last week to re-tally votes flagged as “irregular”. The decision was criticised by defeated candidates and deplored by the Organization of American States, which deployed an monitoring team to the election held on 30 November.
Asfura has already declared himself president-elect. “Honduras, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [electoral council]. I recognise the great work carried out by the members and the entire team that ran 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 claiming manipulation in the counting process, including “forgery of public documents”, claiming that “the data from the initial count sheets were changed”.
The election board is made up of three members: one affiliated with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the leftist president, Xiomara Castro, whose candidate finished third. Asfura’s victory was announced only by the initial pair of councillors.
The representative linked to the president’s party refused to recognise the outcome, claimed that an “stolen election” was taking place and lodged a legal challenge with the public prosecutor’s office, opening the possibility that the outcome will be challenged in the judiciary.
In its statement, the council said: “By the majority will of the Honduran people, expressed sovereignly at the polls, the plenary session of the CNE declares Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah legitimate president of the Republic of Honduras for the presidential term starting 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”
The declaration before the end of the review was the latest in a string of controversies that marked the Central American country’s presidential race, starting with what many saw as open interference by the US president.
Shortly prior to 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 socialists or allies of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.
On the eve of the election, the American leader also granted clemency for the former Honduran president and Asfura supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for reportedly establishing “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 spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and looks forward to working with his administration to promote prosperity and safety in our region.”
