Trump-Backed Contender Asfura Proclaimed Incoming Head of State of Honduras
Donald Trump-backed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the victor of Honduras’s presidential election following a ballot tally that extended for nearly four weeks and was overshadowed by fraud allegations and criticism of interference by the American leader.
The conservative Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and ex-mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, obtained 40.27% of the vote, compared to 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 ballots.
The election authority declared a victor prior to finishing the examination of all tally sheets under a “extraordinary review” launched last week to re-tally votes marked as “inconsistent”. The move was decried by defeated candidates and deplored 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 [supreme electoral tribunal]. I recognise the tremendous effort carried out by the members and the whole staff that administered the election. Honduras: I am ready to govern. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he stated.
Nasralla declined to accept defeat and posted a series of statements alleging fraud in the counting process, including “forgery of public documents”, asserting that “the data from the original tally sheets were changed”.
The election board is made up 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 finished third. Asfura’s victory was announced 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 lodged a complaint with the attorney general, raising the prospect that the result will be challenged in the judiciary.
In its statement, the council declared: “By the majority will 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 presidential term beginning on 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”
The declaration before the end of the recount was the most recent in a series of controversies that marked the Central American country’s presidential race, beginning with what many saw as blatant meddling by the US president.
Days before the vote, Trump publicly backed Asfura, stated the US would support the next government only if he was victorious, and criticized the other main contenders, calling them communists or allies 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 supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for reportedly establishing “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.
The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on social media. “The people of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and anticipates working with his government to advance prosperity and safety in our hemisphere.”
