Former US President-Endorsed Contender Asfura Proclaimed Incoming Head of State of Honduras
Donald Trump-backed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the victor of Honduras’s presidential election following a vote count that dragged on for almost a month 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, obtained 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 votes.
The electoral council proclaimed a winner before completing the review of all tally sheets under a “extraordinary review” initiated last week to re-tally votes flagged as “irregular”. The decision was criticised by unsuccessful contenders and deplored by the Organization of American States, which deployed an observation mission to the election held on 30 November.
Asfura has proclaimed himself as the elected president. “Honduras, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [electoral council]. I recognise the tremendous effort carried out by the councillors and the entire team that administered the election. My fellow citizens: I am prepared to lead. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.
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 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 progressive president, Xiomara Castro, whose nominee came in third place. Asfura’s victory was declared only by the first two councillors.
The member associated with the president’s party rejected the outcome, 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 court.
In its announcement, the council said: “By the majority will of the Honduran people, expressed freely at the ballot box, the full council of the CNE proclaims 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 before the end of the recount was the most recent in a series of controversies that marked the Central American country’s presidential race, beginning with what many saw as open interference by the US president.
Days before the vote, Trump publicly backed Asfura, stated the US would back the next government only if he was victorious, 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 granted clemency for the former Honduran president and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for reportedly establishing “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.
The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on social media. “The people of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and anticipates working with his administration to promote prosperity and safety in our region.”
