Trump-Backed Contender Asfura Declared New Head of State of Honduras
Donald Trump-backed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura was announced as the victor of Honduras’s presidential election after a ballot tally 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 former mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, obtained 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 ballots.
The election authority proclaimed a winner prior to finishing the review of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” launched last week to recount votes flagged as “inconsistent”. The decision was criticised by defeated candidates and deplored by the OAS, which sent an observation mission 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 acknowledge the great work undertaken by the members and the whole staff that administered the election. Honduras: I am ready to govern. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he stated.
Nasralla declined to accept defeat and posted a series of statements claiming manipulation in the tallying procedure, including “forgery of public documents”, asserting that “the figures from the initial count sheets were altered”.
The electoral council 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 win was declared only by the first two councillors.
The member associated with the president’s party rejected the outcome, alleged that an “electoral coup” was taking place and filed a complaint with the attorney general, opening the possibility that the result will be challenged in court.
In its statement, the council declared: “By the majority will of the people of Honduras, expressed freely at the ballot box, the full council of the CNE proclaims Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah constitutional president of the Republic of Honduras for the presidential term beginning on 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”
The declaration before the end of the review was the latest in a string of controversies that marked the Central American country’s election campaign, starting with what many saw as blatant meddling by the US president.
Shortly prior to the vote, Trump publicly backed Asfura, said the US would back the next government only if he was victorious, and criticized the other main contenders, calling 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 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, 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 the elected president Asfura and anticipates collaborating with his government to advance prosperity and security in our region.”
