Former US President-Endorsed Candidate Asfura Declared New Head of State of Honduras
Former President Trump-endorsed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the victor of Honduras’s race for the presidency after a vote count that extended for nearly four weeks and was marred by fraud allegations and accusations of interference by the US president.
The rightwing Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and former mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, compared to 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 votes.
The electoral council proclaimed a winner prior to finishing the examination of all vote records under a “extraordinary review” initiated last week to re-tally votes marked as “inconsistent”. The move was decried by defeated candidates and deplored by the Organization of American States, which deployed an observation mission to the election held on 30 November.
Asfura has already declared himself the elected president. “The nation, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I recognise the great work carried out by the councillors and the entire team that administered the election. My fellow citizens: I am prepared to lead. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.
Nasralla declined to accept defeat and published a number of messages claiming manipulation in the counting process, including “tampering with official records”, claiming that “the data from the original tally sheets were changed”.
The election board is made up of three members: one aligned with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the progressive 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, claimed that an “stolen election” was taking place and filed a legal challenge with the attorney general, raising the prospect that the outcome will be challenged in court.
In its statement, the council declared: “By the sovereign choice of the people of Honduras, expressed sovereignly at the ballot box, the plenary session of the CNE proclaims Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah legitimate 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 disputes that characterized the Central American country’s presidential race, starting with what many saw as open interference by the US president.
Shortly prior to the vote, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, said the US would support the next government only if he was victorious, and criticized the other leading candidates, calling them socialists or associates of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.
On the eve of the election, the American leader also granted clemency for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for allegedly creating “a major drug trafficking route to the United States”.
The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on a public platform. “The people of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” stated Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and looks forward to collaborating with his government to advance prosperity and safety in our hemisphere.”
