Former US President-Endorsed Candidate Asfura Declared Incoming Head of State of Honduras

Donald Trump-backed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was announced as the victor of Honduras’s presidential election after a vote count that extended for almost a month and was clouded by fraud allegations and criticism of meddling from the US president.

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

The electoral council proclaimed a winner prior to finishing the review of all vote records under a “extraordinary review” initiated last week to re-tally votes flagged as “irregular”. The move was criticised by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the OAS, which sent an observation mission to the election held on 30 November.

Asfura has proclaimed himself as president-elect. “The nation, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I acknowledge the tremendous effort carried out by the councillors and the whole staff that administered the election. My fellow citizens: I am ready to govern. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.

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

The electoral council is composed 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 nominee came in third place. Asfura’s win was announced only by the first two councillors.

The member associated with the president’s party refused to recognise the result, claimed that an “electoral coup” was taking place and filed a complaint with the attorney general, opening the possibility that the outcome will be contested in court.

In its announcement, the council said: “By the sovereign choice of the people of Honduras, expressed freely at the polls, the plenary session of the CNE declares Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah constitutional president of the Republic of Honduras for the presidential term beginning on 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”

The declaration before the end of the review was the latest in a series of controversies that marked the Central American country’s election campaign, starting with what many saw as blatant meddling by the American head of state.

Days before the election, Trump publicly backed Asfura, said the US would back the next government only if he was victorious, and criticized the other leading candidates, calling them communists 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 reportedly creating “a major drug trafficking route to the United States”.

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on social media. “The citizens of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” stated Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and looks forward to collaborating with his government to promote prosperity and safety in our hemisphere.”