Trump-Backed Contender Asfura Proclaimed New Head of State of the Central American Nation

Former President Trump-endorsed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the victor of Honduras’s race for the presidency following a vote count that dragged on 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, Tegucigalpa, obtained 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 votes.

The electoral council proclaimed a winner prior to finishing the review of all vote records under a “special scrutiny” initiated last week to recount votes marked as “irregular”. The decision was decried by unsuccessful contenders and deplored by the OAS, which sent an observation mission to the election 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 recognise the great work undertaken by the councillors and the entire team that administered the election. My fellow citizens: I am ready to govern. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he stated.

Nasralla refused to concede and published a series of statements alleging fraud in the counting process, including “tampering with official records”, asserting that “the data from the initial count sheets were changed”.

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 progressive president, Xiomara Castro, whose nominee came in third place. Asfura’s win was declared only by the initial pair of councillors.

The representative associated with the president’s party rejected the outcome, alleged that an “stolen election” was under way and lodged a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office, opening the possibility that the outcome will be challenged in court.

In its statement, the council declared: “By the sovereign choice of the Honduran people, expressed sovereignly at the polls, the plenary session 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 ending on 27 January 2030.”

The proclamation prior to the conclusion of the review was the latest in a series of controversies that marked the Central American country’s presidential race, starting with what many saw as blatant meddling by the US president.

Shortly prior to the election, Trump publicly backed Asfura, stated the US would support the next government only if he won, and attacked the other main contenders, calling them socialists or allies of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.

On the eve of the election, the US president also announced a pardon for the former Honduran president and Asfura supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for allegedly establishing “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on social media. “The people of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and looks forward to working with his government to promote prosperity and security in our region.”