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

Former President Trump-endorsed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the victor of Honduras’s presidential election after a vote count that dragged on for nearly four weeks and was clouded by claims of irregularities and accusations of meddling from the American leader.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and former mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 ballots.

The election authority declared a victor before completing the examination of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” launched last week to re-tally votes flagged as “inconsistent”. The move was criticised by unsuccessful contenders and deplored by the OAS, which sent 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 tremendous effort carried out by the councillors and the whole staff that administered the election. My fellow citizens: I am ready to govern. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he stated.

Nasralla declined to accept defeat and published a series of statements alleging fraud in the tallying procedure, including “forgery of public documents”, claiming that “the figures from the initial count sheets were altered”.

The electoral council is composed of three councillors: one affiliated with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the progressive president, Xiomara Castro, whose candidate finished third. Asfura’s win was announced only by the initial pair of councillors.

The representative associated with the president’s party refused to recognise the result, claimed that an “electoral coup” was under way and filed a legal challenge with the public prosecutor’s office, opening the possibility that the result will be contested in court.

In its announcement, 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 four-year term beginning on 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”

The proclamation prior to the conclusion of the review was the most recent in a series of disputes that characterized the Central American country’s election campaign, starting with what many saw as open interference by the American head of state.

Days before the vote, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, said the US would support the next government only if he was victorious, and attacked the other leading candidates, labeling them socialists or allies of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.

On the eve of the election, the American leader also announced a pardon for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura ally 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 made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” stated Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to president-elect Asfura and looks forward to collaborating with his government to promote economic growth and safety in our hemisphere.”