Trump-Backed Contender Asfura Declared Incoming Head of State of Honduras

Donald Trump-backed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the winner of Honduras’s presidential election after a vote count that dragged on for almost a month and was marred by fraud allegations and accusations of meddling from the US president.

The conservative Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and former mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, obtained 40.27% of the vote, compared to 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 ballots.

The election authority proclaimed a winner before completing the examination of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” initiated last week to re-tally votes flagged 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 already declared himself the elected president. “The nation, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I acknowledge the great work undertaken by the members and the entire team that ran the election. Honduras: I am ready to govern. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he stated.

Nasralla refused to concede and posted a series of statements claiming manipulation in the tallying procedure, including “tampering with official records”, claiming that “the figures from the original tally sheets were altered”.

The electoral council is made up of three members: one aligned with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the leftist president, Xiomara Castro, whose nominee came in third place. Asfura’s win was declared only by the initial pair of councillors.

The member linked to the president’s party refused to recognise the result, alleged that an “stolen election” was under way and lodged a legal challenge with the attorney general, opening the possibility that the outcome will be challenged 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 legitimate president of the Republic of Honduras for the presidential term starting 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”

The declaration before the end of the review was the most recent in a series of disputes that characterized the Central American country’s presidential race, beginning with what many saw as blatant meddling by the US president.

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 communists or associates of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, 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 sentenced 45 years in prison for reportedly creating “a major drug trafficking route to the United States”.

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on social media. “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 region.”