Former US President-Endorsed Contender Asfura Proclaimed 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 following a ballot tally that dragged on for nearly four weeks and was marred by fraud allegations and criticism 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 centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 ballots.

The electoral council proclaimed a winner prior to finishing the review of all tally sheets under a “extraordinary review” initiated last week to re-tally votes flagged as “irregular”. The decision was decried 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 the elected president. “Honduras, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I acknowledge the great work carried out 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 stated.

Nasralla declined to accept defeat and posted a series of statements alleging fraud in the counting process, including “forgery of public documents”, claiming that “the data from the initial count sheets were altered”.

The electoral council is made up of three councillors: one affiliated with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the progressive 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 result, claimed that an “electoral coup” was taking place and lodged a legal challenge with the public prosecutor’s office, opening the possibility that the outcome will be contested in the judiciary.

In its announcement, the council declared: “By the majority will of the Honduran people, expressed sovereignly at the polls, the plenary session of the CNE declares Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah constitutional president of the Republic of Honduras for the four-year term starting 27 January 2026 and ending on 27 January 2030.”

The proclamation prior to the conclusion of the review was the latest in a series of disputes that marked the Central American country’s presidential race, starting with what many saw as open interference by the American head of state.

Shortly prior to the vote, Trump publicly backed Asfura, said the US would back the next government only if he won, and attacked the other main contenders, labeling them communists or allies 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 ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 45 years in prison for reportedly establishing “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on social media. “The citizens of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” said Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to president-elect Asfura and anticipates collaborating with his administration to promote economic growth and security in our region.”