Trump-Backed Candidate Asfura Proclaimed New President of Honduras

Former President Trump-endorsed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the winner of Honduras’s presidential election following a ballot tally that extended for almost a month and was clouded by claims of irregularities and criticism of meddling from the American leader.

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

The election authority proclaimed a winner prior to finishing the examination of all vote records under a “extraordinary review” launched 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 deployed an observation mission 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 [supreme electoral tribunal]. I acknowledge the tremendous effort carried out by the councillors and the whole staff that administered the election. Honduras: I am prepared to lead. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.

Nasralla refused to concede and posted a number of messages alleging fraud in the tallying procedure, including “forgery of public documents”, claiming that “the figures from the initial count sheets were altered”.

The electoral council is composed of three councillors: 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 win was declared only by the initial pair of councillors.

The representative linked to the president’s party refused to recognise the outcome, alleged that an “electoral coup” was taking place and filed a legal challenge with the public prosecutor’s office, raising the prospect that the result will be contested in court.

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 declares Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah legitimate president of the Republic of Honduras for the four-year term starting 27 January 2026 and ending on 27 January 2030.”

The proclamation before the end of the recount was the latest in a string of controversies that marked the Central American country’s presidential race, beginning with what many saw as open interference by the American head of state.

Days before the vote, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, stated the US would back the next government only if he won, and criticized the other leading candidates, labeling them socialists or associates of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.

On the night of the election, the American leader also announced a pardon for the former Honduran president 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 US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on social media. “The people of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” stated Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to president-elect Asfura and looks forward to collaborating with his administration to promote prosperity and security in our hemisphere.”