Trump-Backed Candidate Asfura Proclaimed New President of the Central American Nation
Donald Trump-backed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the winner of Honduras’s presidential election following a vote count that dragged on for almost a month and was clouded by claims of irregularities and accusations of meddling from the US president.
The conservative Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and ex-mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 votes.
The electoral council proclaimed a winner before completing the examination of all tally sheets under a “extraordinary review” initiated last week to recount votes flagged as “inconsistent”. The decision was decried by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the OAS, which deployed 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 acknowledge the tremendous effort undertaken by the councillors and the whole staff that ran 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 series of statements claiming manipulation in the tallying procedure, including “tampering with official records”, claiming that “the data from the original tally sheets were changed”.
The electoral council is made up of three councillors: one aligned with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the leftist president, Xiomara Castro, whose nominee finished third. Asfura’s win was announced only by the initial pair of councillors.
The member associated with the president’s party refused to recognise the outcome, claimed that an “stolen election” was under way and lodged a complaint with the attorney general, opening the possibility that the outcome will be challenged in the judiciary.
In its statement, the council said: “By the sovereign choice of the people of Honduras, expressed freely at the ballot box, the plenary session of the CNE proclaims Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah legitimate president of the Republic of Honduras for the presidential term beginning on 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”
The proclamation prior to the conclusion of the recount was the latest in a string of disputes that marked the Central American country’s election campaign, starting with what many saw as open interference by the American head of state.
Shortly prior to the election, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, stated the US would back the next government only if he was victorious, and criticized the other main contenders, calling them socialists or allies of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.
On the night 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 establishing “a major drug trafficking route to the United States”.
The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on social media. “The citizens of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and looks forward to working with his government to advance economic growth and security in our hemisphere.”
