Former US President-Endorsed Candidate Asfura Declared Incoming President of the Central American Nation

Former President Trump-endorsed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the winner of Honduras’s presidential election after a ballot tally that extended for nearly four weeks and was overshadowed by fraud allegations and criticism of meddling from the American leader.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and former 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 ballots.

The electoral council proclaimed a winner before completing the review of all tally sheets under a “extraordinary review” launched last week to re-tally votes flagged as “irregular”. The decision 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 official declaration from the CNE [electoral council]. I acknowledge the great work undertaken by the councillors and the entire team that administered the election. My fellow citizens: I am prepared to lead. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he stated.

Nasralla declined to accept defeat and published a number of messages claiming manipulation in the tallying procedure, including “forgery of public documents”, asserting that “the figures from the initial count sheets were changed”.

The electoral council is made up of three members: one aligned with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the leftist president, Xiomara Castro, whose nominee came in third place. Asfura’s victory was declared only by the first two councillors.

The representative associated with 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, opening the possibility that the outcome will be challenged in the judiciary.

In its announcement, the council said: “By the sovereign choice of the Honduran people, 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 ending on 27 January 2030.”

The proclamation prior to the conclusion of the recount was the most recent in a string of controversies that characterized 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 publicly backed Asfura, said 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 authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.

On the night of the election, the US president also granted clemency for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 45 years in prison for allegedly establishing “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on social media. “The citizens of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” stated Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and anticipates working with his administration to promote prosperity and safety in our hemisphere.”