Former US President-Endorsed Candidate Asfura Proclaimed 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 marred by fraud allegations and accusations of meddling from the US president.
The conservative Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and ex-mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, obtained 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 review of all vote records under a “extraordinary review” initiated last week to re-tally votes marked as “irregular”. The decision was criticised by defeated candidates and deplored by the Organization of American States, which sent an observation mission to the poll held on 30 November.
Asfura has proclaimed himself as the elected president. “Honduras, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I acknowledge the great work carried out by the councillors and the entire team that administered the election. My fellow citizens: I am ready to govern. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.
Nasralla declined to accept defeat and posted a series of statements alleging fraud in the counting process, including “tampering with official records”, asserting that “the figures from the initial count sheets were changed”.
The election board is composed of three members: one affiliated 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 announced only by the first two councillors.
The member associated with the president’s party rejected the outcome, alleged that an “stolen election” was under way and lodged a legal challenge with the attorney general, raising the prospect that the outcome will be contested in the judiciary.
In its announcement, the council declared: “By the sovereign choice of the people of Honduras, expressed sovereignly at the polls, the plenary session of the CNE proclaims Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah constitutional president of the Republic of Honduras for the four-year 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 series of controversies that marked the Central American country’s presidential race, starting with what many saw as open interference by the US president.
Shortly prior to the vote, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, said the US would back the next government only if he won, and criticized the other main contenders, calling them communists or associates of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.
On the eve of the election, the American leader 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 creating “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on a public platform. “The people of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” stated Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and anticipates collaborating with his government to promote economic growth and security in our region.”
