Former US President-Endorsed Candidate Asfura Declared New President of the Central American Nation

Donald Trump-backed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was announced as the winner of Honduras’s race for the presidency after a vote count that dragged on for nearly four weeks and was clouded by fraud allegations and criticism of interference by the American leader.

The conservative Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and ex-mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 ballots.

The election authority proclaimed a winner prior to finishing the review of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” initiated last week to re-tally votes marked as “irregular”. The decision was decried by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the Organization of American States, which sent an observation mission to the election held on 30 November.

Asfura has proclaimed himself as president-elect. “The nation, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [electoral council]. I acknowledge the great work undertaken by the members and the entire team that administered the election. Honduras: I am prepared to lead. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.

Nasralla refused to concede and posted a series of statements claiming manipulation 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 councillors: one aligned with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the progressive president, Xiomara Castro, whose nominee finished third. Asfura’s win was announced only by the first two councillors.

The member linked to 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 challenged in court.

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

The proclamation before the end 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 election, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, stated the US would back the next government only if he won, and attacked the other main contenders, calling them communists or associates of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.

On the night of the election, the US president also announced a pardon for the ex-leader of Honduras 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 American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on social media. “The citizens of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” said Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to president-elect Asfura and looks forward to working with his administration to promote economic growth and security in our hemisphere.”