Trump-Backed Candidate Asfura Proclaimed New President of Honduras

Donald Trump-backed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the victor of Honduras’s race for the presidency after a ballot tally that dragged on for almost a month and was overshadowed by claims of irregularities and criticism of meddling from the American leader.

The conservative Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and former mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 votes.

The election authority declared a victor before completing the examination of all vote records under a “special scrutiny” initiated last week to re-tally votes flagged as “inconsistent”. The decision was criticised by unsuccessful contenders and deplored by the OAS, which sent an monitoring team to the poll held on 30 November.

Asfura has already declared himself the elected president. “Honduras, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I recognise the great work carried out by the members and the entire team that ran the election. Honduras: I am ready to govern. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he stated.

Nasralla refused to concede and posted a series of statements claiming manipulation in the counting process, including “tampering with official records”, claiming that “the data from the initial count sheets were altered”.

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 leftist president, Xiomara Castro, whose candidate finished third. Asfura’s victory was declared only by the first two councillors.

The member linked to the president’s party refused to recognise the result, claimed that an “stolen election” was taking place and filed a complaint 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 sovereignly at the polls, the plenary session of the CNE proclaims Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah legitimate president of the Republic of Honduras for the presidential term starting 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”

The declaration before the end of the review was the most recent in a string of controversies that marked the Central American country’s election campaign, starting with what many saw as open interference by the US president.

Shortly prior to the election, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, stated the US would support the next government only if he was victorious, and attacked the other main contenders, labeling them communists or associates of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.

On the night of the election, the US president also granted clemency for the former Honduran president and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 45 years in prison for reportedly establishing “a major drug trafficking route 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,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates the elected president Asfura and anticipates working with his administration to promote economic growth and security in our hemisphere.”