Trump-Backed Contender Asfura Proclaimed New President of Honduras
Former President Trump-endorsed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the winner of Honduras’s race for the presidency after a ballot tally that dragged on for almost a month and was marred by claims of irregularities and accusations of meddling from the US president.
The conservative Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and ex-mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, compared to 39.53% for the centre-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 move was criticised by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the Organization of American States, which sent an monitoring team to the election held on 30 November.
Asfura has proclaimed himself as the elected president. “The nation, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [electoral council]. I recognise the great work 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 tallying procedure, including “tampering with official records”, asserting that “the figures from the initial count sheets were changed”.
The electoral council is made up of three councillors: one affiliated with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the leftist president, Xiomara Castro, whose candidate finished third. Asfura’s victory was announced only by the first two councillors.
The representative linked to the president’s party refused to recognise the outcome, alleged that an “electoral coup” was under way and lodged a complaint with the attorney general, raising the prospect that the result will be contested in the judiciary.
In its announcement, the council said: “By the majority will of the Honduran people, expressed sovereignly 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 beginning on 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 characterized the Central American country’s presidential race, starting with what many saw as blatant meddling by the US president.
Shortly prior to the vote, Trump publicly backed Asfura, said 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 granted clemency for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for allegedly establishing “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.
The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on a public platform. “The citizens of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” said Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to president-elect Asfura and anticipates collaborating with his administration to advance economic growth and safety in our region.”