Former US President-Endorsed Contender Asfura Proclaimed New Head of State of Honduras
Former President Trump-endorsed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the winner of Honduras’s race for the presidency after a vote count that dragged on for nearly four weeks and was marred by fraud allegations and criticism of interference by the American leader.
The conservative Asfura, 67, a construction magnate 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 electoral council proclaimed a winner prior to finishing the examination of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” launched last week to recount votes flagged as “irregular”. The decision was decried by defeated candidates and lamented by the Organization of American States, which deployed an observation mission to the election held on 30 November.
Asfura has already declared himself president-elect. “Honduras, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [electoral council]. I recognise the great work undertaken by the councillors and the whole staff that ran 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 published a series of statements alleging fraud in the counting process, including “tampering with official records”, asserting that “the data from the initial count sheets were changed”.
The electoral council is made up of three councillors: 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 win was declared only by the initial pair of councillors.
The member linked to the president’s party refused to recognise the outcome, alleged that an “electoral coup” was under way and filed a legal challenge with the public prosecutor’s office, raising the prospect that the outcome will be challenged in court.
In its announcement, the council declared: “By the majority will of the people of Honduras, expressed freely 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 declaration prior to the conclusion of the recount was the latest in a string of controversies that characterized the Central American country’s election campaign, beginning with what many saw as blatant meddling by the US president.
Days before the vote, Trump publicly backed Asfura, stated the US would back the next government only if he won, and attacked the other leading candidates, calling them socialists or associates 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 given 45 years in prison for allegedly establishing “a major drug trafficking route to the United States”.
The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, congratulated 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 working with his government to advance prosperity and security in our hemisphere.”
