Trump-Backed Contender Asfura Proclaimed New Head of State of Honduras

Donald Trump-backed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was announced as the winner of Honduras’s presidential election after a vote count that extended for nearly four weeks and was clouded by fraud allegations and criticism of interference by the US president.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and ex-mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, compared to 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 ballots.

The electoral council declared a victor before completing the examination of all tally sheets under a “extraordinary review” initiated last week to recount votes marked as “inconsistent”. The move was decried by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the OAS, which sent an observation mission to the poll held on 30 November.

Asfura has proclaimed himself as president-elect. “The nation, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I recognise 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 let you down. God bless Honduras,” he stated.

Nasralla refused to concede and published a number of messages claiming manipulation in the counting process, including “tampering with official records”, claiming that “the data from the initial count 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 declared only by the initial pair of councillors.

The member associated with the president’s party refused to recognise the result, alleged that an “stolen election” was under way and filed a legal challenge with the attorney general, opening the possibility that the outcome will be contested 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 declares 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 declaration before the end of the recount was the latest in a string of disputes that characterized the Central American country’s presidential race, beginning with what many saw as open interference by the American head of state.

Shortly prior to the vote, Trump publicly backed Asfura, stated the US would support the next government only if he won, and criticized the other leading candidates, calling them communists or allies of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.

On the eve of the election, the US president 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 cocaine superhighway to the United States”.

The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on a public platform. “The citizens of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates the elected president Asfura and looks forward to collaborating with his administration to advance prosperity and safety in our region.”