Trump-Backed Contender Asfura Declared Incoming Head of State of the Central American Nation

Former President Trump-endorsed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the victor of Honduras’s race for the presidency after a ballot tally that extended for nearly four weeks and was overshadowed by fraud allegations and criticism of meddling from the US president.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and former mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, obtained 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 ballots.

The election authority proclaimed a winner before completing the review of all vote records under a “extraordinary review” initiated last week to recount votes flagged as “irregular”. The decision was decried by defeated candidates and lamented by the OAS, which deployed an observation mission to the election 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 fail you. God bless Honduras,” he stated.

Nasralla declined to accept defeat and published a number of messages alleging fraud in the counting process, including “forgery of public documents”, claiming that “the data from the original tally sheets were altered”.

The electoral council is composed of three members: one affiliated with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the progressive 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 outcome, alleged that an “electoral coup” was under way and lodged a complaint with the attorney general, raising the prospect that the outcome will be challenged in court.

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

The declaration prior to the conclusion of the recount was the latest in a series of controversies that characterized the Central American country’s election campaign, starting with what many saw as blatant meddling by the American head of state.

Days before the vote, Trump publicly backed Asfura, stated the US would back the next government only if he was victorious, and criticized the other main contenders, calling them communists or associates of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.

On the night of the election, the American leader also announced a pardon for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 45 years in prison for allegedly establishing “a major drug trafficking route 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’ incoming leader,” stated Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to president-elect Asfura and looks forward to collaborating with his administration to advance prosperity and security in our hemisphere.”