Trump-Backed Contender Asfura Declared Incoming Head of State 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 extended for almost a month and was clouded by claims of irregularities and accusations of interference by the American leader.
The rightwing Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and ex-mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 ballots.
The electoral council declared a victor prior to finishing the review of all vote records under a “extraordinary review” launched last week to recount votes flagged as “inconsistent”. The decision was criticised by defeated candidates and deplored by the OAS, which sent an monitoring team to the poll held on 30 November.
Asfura has proclaimed himself as the elected president. “Honduras, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [electoral council]. 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 counting process, including “tampering with official records”, asserting that “the figures from the original tally sheets were changed”.
The election board is composed of three councillors: one aligned with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the progressive president, Xiomara Castro, whose nominee came in third place. Asfura’s victory was declared only by the initial pair of councillors.
The member associated with the president’s party rejected the result, alleged that an “stolen election” was under way and filed 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 sovereign choice of the people of Honduras, expressed freely at the polls, the full council of the CNE declares Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah constitutional president of the Republic of Honduras for the presidential term starting 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”
The declaration prior to the conclusion of the review was the latest in a string of disputes that characterized the Central American country’s presidential race, starting with what many saw as open interference 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 attacked the other main contenders, labeling 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 former Honduran president and Asfura supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 45 years in prison for allegedly establishing “a major drug trafficking route to the United States”.
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on social media. “The people of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” stated Rubio. “The United States congratulates the elected president Asfura and looks forward to collaborating with his government to advance economic growth and security in our hemisphere.”
