Trump-Backed Candidate Asfura Proclaimed Incoming Head of State of the Central American Nation
Donald Trump-backed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura was announced as the victor of Honduras’s presidential election after a ballot tally that extended for almost a month and was clouded by fraud allegations and accusations of meddling from the American leader.
The conservative Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and former mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, obtained 40.27% of the vote, compared to 39.53% for the centre-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” launched last week to re-tally votes marked as “irregular”. The move was decried by defeated candidates and lamented by the Organization of American States, which deployed an observation mission to the poll held on 30 November.
Asfura has proclaimed himself as the elected president. “The nation, 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 ran the election. My fellow citizens: I am prepared to lead. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.
Nasralla refused to concede and published a series of statements 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 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 announced only by the first two councillors.
The representative linked to the president’s party rejected the result, claimed that an “electoral coup” was taking place and lodged a legal challenge with the attorney general, raising the prospect that the outcome will be challenged in the judiciary.
In its statement, the council said: “By the majority will of the people of Honduras, expressed sovereignly at the ballot box, the plenary session of the CNE proclaims Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah constitutional president of the Republic of Honduras for the presidential term beginning on 27 January 2026 and ending on 27 January 2030.”
The proclamation prior to the conclusion of the recount was the most recent in a string of disputes that characterized the Central American country’s presidential race, starting with what many saw as open interference by the American head of state.
Shortly prior to the election, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, said the US would support the next government only if he was victorious, and attacked the other main contenders, calling them communists or associates of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.
On the night of the election, the American leader also granted clemency for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 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 a public platform. “The people of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” said Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to president-elect Asfura and anticipates collaborating with his government to advance prosperity and safety in our hemisphere.”
