Trump-Backed Candidate Asfura Declared Incoming President of the Central American Nation

Donald Trump-backed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the victor of Honduras’s race for the presidency after a ballot tally that dragged on for almost a month and was overshadowed by fraud allegations and accusations of meddling from the American leader.

The conservative Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and ex-mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, obtained 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 declared a victor prior to finishing the review of all vote records under a “extraordinary review” initiated last week to recount votes marked as “inconsistent”. The decision was decried by unsuccessful contenders and deplored by the OAS, which sent an monitoring team to the election held on 30 November.

Asfura has proclaimed himself as president-elect. “Honduras, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [electoral council]. I recognise the great work undertaken by the councillors and the whole staff that administered the election. My fellow citizens: I am prepared to lead. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he stated.

Nasralla refused to concede and published a number of messages alleging fraud in the tallying procedure, including “tampering with official records”, asserting that “the data from the initial count sheets were altered”.

The electoral council is composed 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 came in third place. Asfura’s victory was declared only by the initial pair of councillors.

The representative linked to the president’s party refused to recognise the outcome, alleged that an “stolen election” was taking place and lodged a legal challenge with the public prosecutor’s office, opening the possibility that the result will be challenged in court.

In its announcement, the council said: “By the sovereign choice of the people of Honduras, expressed freely at the ballot box, the plenary session of the CNE declares Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah legitimate president of the Republic of Honduras for the four-year term starting 27 January 2026 and ending on 27 January 2030.”

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

Days before the election, 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 authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.

On the eve of the election, the US president also granted clemency for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for reportedly establishing “a cocaine superhighway 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,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates the elected president Asfura and looks forward to working with his administration to promote economic growth and safety in our region.”