Former US President-Endorsed Candidate Asfura Proclaimed New Head of State of Honduras
Former President Trump-endorsed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the winner of Honduras’s presidential election after a ballot tally that dragged on for almost a month and was marred by claims of irregularities and accusations of meddling from the American leader.
The conservative Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and ex-mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, compared to 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 votes.
The electoral council proclaimed a winner before completing the review of all tally sheets under a “extraordinary review” launched last week to recount votes marked as “inconsistent”. The move was decried by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the Organization of American States, which deployed an monitoring team to the poll held on 30 November.
Asfura has already declared himself president-elect. “The nation, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I acknowledge the great work carried out by the councillors and the whole staff that administered the election. Honduras: I am prepared to lead. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.
Nasralla declined to accept defeat and published a number of messages claiming manipulation in the tallying procedure, including “tampering with official records”, asserting that “the figures from the original tally sheets were altered”.
The election board is made up of three councillors: 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 victory was announced only by the initial pair of councillors.
The member associated with the president’s party refused to recognise the result, alleged that an “electoral coup” was taking place and lodged a complaint with the attorney general, opening the possibility that the result will be challenged in the judiciary.
In its announcement, the council declared: “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 starting 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”
The proclamation prior to the conclusion of the review was the latest in a string of disputes that characterized the Central American country’s election campaign, beginning with what many saw as open interference by the US president.
Days before the election, Trump publicly backed Asfura, stated the US would support the next government only if he won, and criticized the other main contenders, labeling them socialists or associates of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.
On the eve of the election, the US president also granted clemency for the former Honduran president and Asfura supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 45 years in prison for allegedly establishing “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.
The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on social media. “The people of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and looks forward to working with his administration to advance economic growth and security in our hemisphere.”
