Former US President-Endorsed Contender Asfura Proclaimed Incoming Head of State of the Central American Nation
Former President Trump-endorsed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was announced as the victor of Honduras’s presidential election following a ballot tally that dragged on for almost a month and was marred by claims of irregularities and criticism of interference by the American leader.
The conservative Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and former mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, obtained 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 recount votes marked as “irregular”. The move was criticised by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the Organization of American States, 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 official declaration from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I acknowledge the tremendous effort carried out by the councillors and the entire team that administered the election. My fellow citizens: I am prepared to lead. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he stated.
Nasralla declined to accept defeat and posted 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 election board 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 candidate came in third place. Asfura’s win was declared only by the initial pair of councillors.
The representative linked to the president’s party refused to recognise the outcome, alleged that an “electoral coup” was under way and filed a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office, raising the prospect that the result will be contested in court.
In its announcement, the council declared: “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 ending on 27 January 2030.”
The declaration prior to the conclusion of the review was the latest in a string of disputes that marked the Central American country’s presidential race, beginning with what many saw as open interference by the American head of state.
Shortly prior to the vote, Trump publicly backed Asfura, stated the US would back the next government only if he was victorious, and criticized the other leading candidates, labeling them communists or allies of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.
On the night of the election, the US president also announced a pardon for the ex-leader of Honduras 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 a public platform. “The people of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” stated Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to president-elect Asfura and anticipates collaborating with his administration to advance prosperity and safety in our hemisphere.”