Former US President-Endorsed Contender Asfura Proclaimed New Head of State of the Central American Nation

Former President Trump-endorsed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the winner of Honduras’s presidential election after a ballot tally that dragged on for almost a month and was clouded by fraud allegations and criticism of interference by the US president.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and former mayor of the capital, 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 declared a victor before completing the review of all tally sheets under a “extraordinary review” launched last week to recount votes marked as “inconsistent”. The decision was criticised by defeated candidates and lamented by the OAS, which deployed an monitoring team to the election held on 30 November.

Asfura has proclaimed himself as the elected president. “Honduras, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I recognise the great work undertaken by the members and the whole staff that administered 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 posted a series of statements claiming manipulation in the counting process, including “forgery of public documents”, claiming that “the figures from the original tally sheets were altered”.

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 nominee finished third. Asfura’s win was declared only by the first two councillors.

The member linked to the president’s party rejected the outcome, alleged that an “electoral coup” was taking place and filed a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office, raising the prospect that the result will be challenged in the judiciary.

In its announcement, the council declared: “By the sovereign choice of the people of Honduras, expressed freely at the polls, the plenary session of the CNE declares Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah legitimate president of the Republic of Honduras for the four-year term beginning on 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”

The proclamation before the end of the recount was the most recent in a series of controversies that marked 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 vote, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, stated the US would support the next government only if he won, and attacked the other leading candidates, labeling them communists or associates of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.

On the eve of the election, the US president also granted clemency for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura ally 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, offered congratulations to Asfura on social media. “The citizens of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” said Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to the elected president Asfura and anticipates working with his administration to advance prosperity and security in our hemisphere.”