Trump-Backed Contender Asfura Declared Incoming Head of State of Honduras

Donald Trump-backed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the winner of Honduras’s race for the presidency after a ballot tally that extended for nearly four weeks and was marred by claims of irregularities and accusations of meddling from the American leader.

The conservative Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and ex-mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, obtained 40.27% of the vote, compared to 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 votes.

The electoral council proclaimed a winner before completing the review of all vote records under a “special scrutiny” launched last week to recount votes marked as “inconsistent”. The decision was criticised 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. “Honduras, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [electoral council]. I recognise the tremendous effort carried out by the members and the entire team that ran the election. Honduras: I am ready to govern. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.

Nasralla refused to concede and posted a number of messages alleging fraud in the counting process, including “forgery of public documents”, asserting that “the data from the initial count sheets were changed”.

The election board is made up of three members: one affiliated with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the leftist president, Xiomara Castro, whose candidate finished third. Asfura’s victory was declared only by the initial pair of councillors.

The representative linked to the president’s party refused to recognise the result, alleged that an “stolen election” was taking place and lodged a complaint with the attorney general, raising the prospect that the outcome will be challenged in court.

In its statement, the council said: “By the majority will of the Honduran people, expressed freely at the ballot box, the full council 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 series of controversies that characterized the Central American country’s presidential race, beginning with what many saw as blatant meddling by the US president.

Days before the vote, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, stated the US would back the next government only if he won, and criticized the other main contenders, calling them socialists or associates of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.

On the night of the election, the US president also granted clemency for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 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 social media. “The citizens of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates the elected president Asfura and anticipates working with his administration to advance prosperity and security in our hemisphere.”