Former US President-Endorsed Candidate Asfura Proclaimed New President of the Central American Nation
Former President Trump-endorsed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the victor of Honduras’s presidential election after a ballot tally that dragged on for almost a month and was clouded by claims of irregularities and accusations of interference by the US president.
The conservative Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and former mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, obtained 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 ballots.
The electoral council declared a victor prior to finishing the review of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” initiated last week to recount votes marked as “irregular”. The decision was decried by defeated candidates and deplored by the Organization of American States, which deployed an monitoring team to the poll held on 30 November.
Asfura has proclaimed himself as president-elect. “Honduras, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [electoral council]. I acknowledge the tremendous effort carried out by the members and the whole staff that administered the election. My fellow citizens: I am ready to govern. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he stated.
Nasralla declined to accept defeat and posted a number of messages alleging fraud in the tallying procedure, including “forgery of public documents”, claiming that “the data from the original tally sheets were altered”.
The electoral council is composed 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 came in third place. Asfura’s win was declared only by the first two councillors.
The member associated with the president’s party rejected the outcome, alleged that an “electoral coup” was taking place and lodged a complaint with the attorney general, raising the prospect that the outcome will be challenged in court.
In its announcement, the council said: “By the sovereign choice of the people of Honduras, expressed sovereignly at the ballot box, the plenary session of the CNE declares Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah legitimate president of the Republic of Honduras for the four-year term starting 27 January 2026 and ending on 27 January 2030.”
The declaration prior to the conclusion of the recount was the latest in a string of controversies that marked the Central American country’s election campaign, beginning with what many saw as open interference by the US president.
Days before the election, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, said the US would support the next government only if he won, and criticized the other leading candidates, 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 sentenced 45 years in prison for reportedly creating “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on social media. “The people of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and anticipates working with his government to promote prosperity and safety in our region.”