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

Donald Trump-backed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the victor of Honduras’s race for the presidency after a vote count that extended for almost a month and was clouded by claims of irregularities and accusations of interference by the American leader.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and ex-mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, compared to 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 ballots.

The electoral council proclaimed a winner before completing the review of all vote records under a “extraordinary review” initiated last week to recount votes flagged as “irregular”. The move was decried by defeated candidates and lamented 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 formal proclamation from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I recognise the great work carried out by the members and the whole staff that ran 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 data from the initial count sheets were changed”.

The electoral council is composed of three councillors: one aligned 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 announced only by the first two councillors.

The member associated with the president’s party refused to recognise the outcome, alleged that an “stolen election” was taking place and filed a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office, raising the prospect that the outcome will be contested in court.

In its announcement, the council declared: “By the majority will of the people of Honduras, expressed freely at the polls, the full council of the CNE declares Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah legitimate president of the Republic of Honduras for the presidential term starting 27 January 2026 and ending on 27 January 2030.”

The declaration before the end of the recount was the most recent in a string of controversies that marked the Central American country’s presidential race, starting with what many saw as blatant meddling by the American head of state.

Shortly prior to the election, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, stated the US would back the next government only if he won, and attacked 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 supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 45 years in prison for allegedly creating “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.

The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on social media. “The citizens of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” said Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to president-elect Asfura and anticipates working with his government to promote economic growth and safety in our region.”