Trump-Backed Contender Asfura Declared New President of Honduras

Former President Trump-endorsed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura was announced as the winner of Honduras’s presidential election following a ballot tally that extended for nearly four weeks and was overshadowed by claims of irregularities and accusations of interference by the American leader.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and ex-mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, compared to 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 votes.

The election authority declared a victor before completing the examination of all vote records under a “extraordinary review” initiated last week to re-tally votes marked as “inconsistent”. The decision was decried by defeated candidates and deplored by the Organization of American States, which deployed an monitoring team to the election held on 30 November.

Asfura has already declared himself president-elect. “The nation, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I acknowledge the great work carried out by the councillors and the entire team that administered the election. Honduras: I am prepared to lead. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he stated.

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

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 candidate came in third place. Asfura’s victory was announced only by the first two councillors.

The representative associated with the president’s party refused to recognise the outcome, alleged that an “electoral coup” was under way and lodged a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office, raising the prospect that the result will be contested in the judiciary.

In its statement, 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 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 series of disputes that characterized the Central American country’s presidential race, beginning with what many saw as blatant meddling by the American head of state.

Days before the election, Trump publicly backed Asfura, stated the US would support the next government only if he won, and criticized the other leading candidates, calling them communists or associates of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.

On the eve 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 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 a public platform. “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 collaborating with his administration to advance prosperity and security in our region.”