Former US President-Endorsed Contender Asfura Declared New President of Honduras
Donald Trump-backed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the winner of Honduras’s presidential election following a ballot tally that dragged on for almost a month and was marred by fraud allegations and criticism of interference by the American leader.
The rightwing Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and former 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 declared a victor prior to finishing the examination of all vote records under a “extraordinary review” launched last week to re-tally votes flagged as “inconsistent”. The move was criticised by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the Organization of American States, which deployed an monitoring team to the poll held on 30 November.
Asfura has already declared himself the elected president. “The nation, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [electoral council]. I recognise the tremendous effort carried out by the councillors and the entire team that ran the election. Honduras: I am ready to govern. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he stated.
Nasralla declined to accept defeat and posted a series of statements alleging fraud in the counting process, including “tampering with official records”, claiming that “the data from the initial count sheets were altered”.
The electoral council 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 came in third place. Asfura’s victory was declared only by the first two councillors.
The representative linked to the president’s party refused to recognise the result, alleged that an “stolen election” was taking place and lodged a complaint with the attorney general, opening the possibility that the outcome will be contested in the judiciary.
In its announcement, the council said: “By the majority will of the people of Honduras, expressed sovereignly at the ballot box, the plenary session of the CNE declares Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah legitimate president of the Republic of Honduras for the four-year term beginning on 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”
The proclamation prior to the conclusion of the recount was the most recent in a string of disputes that marked the Central American country’s election campaign, starting with what many saw as blatant meddling by the American head of state.
Days before the vote, Trump publicly backed Asfura, stated the US would support the next government only if he won, and attacked the other main contenders, calling them socialists or associates of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.
On the night of the election, the American leader also granted clemency for the former Honduran president and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 45 years in prison for allegedly creating “a major drug trafficking route to the United States”.
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on a public platform. “The people of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” said Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to the elected president Asfura and looks forward to collaborating with his administration to advance prosperity and safety in our hemisphere.”
