Former US President-Endorsed Candidate Asfura Proclaimed New Head of State of the Central American Nation

Former President Trump-endorsed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the victor of Honduras’s presidential election following a vote count that dragged on for almost a month and was overshadowed by claims of irregularities and accusations of meddling from the American leader.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and former 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 votes.

The election authority proclaimed a winner before completing the review of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” initiated last week to recount votes marked as “inconsistent”. The decision was decried by defeated candidates and lamented by the Organization of American States, which sent an observation mission to the poll 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 councillors and the entire team that ran the election. My fellow citizens: I am ready to govern. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he stated.

Nasralla declined to accept defeat and published a series of statements claiming manipulation in the counting process, including “forgery of public documents”, claiming that “the data from the original tally sheets were changed”.

The electoral council 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 candidate finished third. Asfura’s win was announced only by the initial pair of councillors.

The member linked to the president’s party rejected the result, claimed that an “stolen election” was under way and filed a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office, raising the prospect that the result will be challenged in the judiciary.

In its statement, the council said: “By the majority will of the people of Honduras, expressed sovereignly at the polls, the full council of the CNE declares Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah constitutional president of the Republic of Honduras for the four-year term starting 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”

The declaration before the end of the review was the latest in a series of controversies that marked the Central American country’s election campaign, beginning with what many saw as blatant meddling by the American head of state.

Shortly prior to the vote, Trump publicly backed Asfura, said the US would support the next government only if he was victorious, and criticized the other leading candidates, labeling them communists or allies of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.

On the night of the election, the US president also granted clemency for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 45 years in prison for reportedly 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’ incoming leader,” said Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to president-elect Asfura and anticipates working with his administration to promote prosperity and security in our hemisphere.”