Former US President-Endorsed Contender Asfura Declared New President of the Central American Nation
Former President Trump-endorsed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the victor of Honduras’s presidential election following a ballot tally that extended for nearly four weeks and was overshadowed by claims of irregularities and criticism of interference by the US president.
The rightwing Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and former mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, obtained 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 ballots.
The election authority declared a victor before completing the examination of all vote records under a “special scrutiny” initiated last week to re-tally votes flagged as “irregular”. The move was decried by defeated candidates and deplored by the Organization of American States, which deployed an observation mission 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 acknowledge the great work carried out by the councillors and the entire team that ran the election. Honduras: I am ready to govern. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.
Nasralla declined to accept defeat and published a number of messages alleging fraud in the counting process, including “forgery of public documents”, asserting that “the figures from the original tally sheets were altered”.
The election board is composed of three councillors: one aligned with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the progressive president, Xiomara Castro, whose candidate came in third place. Asfura’s win was announced only by the initial pair of councillors.
The member associated with the president’s party rejected the result, alleged that an “stolen election” was taking place and filed a complaint with the attorney general, opening the possibility that the result will be contested in court.
In its announcement, the council said: “By the majority will of the Honduran people, expressed sovereignly at the ballot box, the full council 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 declaration prior to the conclusion of the review was the most recent in a series of disputes that characterized the Central American country’s presidential race, starting with what many saw as blatant meddling by the American head of state.
Shortly prior to the vote, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, stated the US would support the next government only if he was victorious, and criticized the other leading candidates, labeling them communists or associates of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.
On the eve of the election, the American leader also announced a pardon for the former Honduran president and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 45 years in prison for reportedly 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,” stated Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and looks forward to collaborating with his administration to advance prosperity and security in our region.”
