Trump-Backed Contender Asfura Declared 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 race for the presidency after a ballot tally that dragged on for nearly four weeks and was marred by fraud allegations and criticism of meddling from the American leader.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and former mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, obtained 40.27% of the vote, compared to 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 votes.

The electoral council proclaimed a winner prior to finishing the examination of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” launched last week to re-tally votes flagged as “inconsistent”. The move was decried 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 councillors and the whole staff that ran the election. Honduras: I am ready to govern. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he stated.

Nasralla declined to accept defeat and published a series of statements alleging fraud in the counting process, including “tampering with official records”, claiming that “the figures from the original tally sheets were changed”.

The election board is made up of three councillors: one affiliated with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the progressive president, Xiomara Castro, whose candidate finished third. Asfura’s win was announced only by the initial pair of councillors.

The representative associated with the president’s party refused to recognise the outcome, alleged that an “electoral coup” was taking place and filed a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office, raising the prospect that the outcome will be challenged in the judiciary.

In its statement, the council declared: “By the majority will of the people of Honduras, expressed freely at the polls, the plenary session of the CNE proclaims Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah legitimate president of the Republic of Honduras for the four-year term beginning on 27 January 2026 and ending on 27 January 2030.”

The declaration prior to the conclusion of the recount was the most recent in a series 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 won, and criticized the other leading candidates, calling them communists or allies of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.

On the night of the election, the American leader also granted clemency for the former Honduran president and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for reportedly creating “a major drug trafficking route to the United States”.

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on social media. “The citizens of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and anticipates working with his administration to promote prosperity and safety in our region.”