Former US President-Endorsed Candidate Asfura Proclaimed New President of Honduras
Donald Trump-backed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the victor of Honduras’s presidential election after a ballot tally that dragged on for almost a month and was clouded by fraud allegations and criticism of meddling from the American leader.
The conservative Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and former mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, obtained 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 prior to finishing the review of all vote records under a “extraordinary review” launched last week to re-tally votes flagged as “inconsistent”. The decision was criticised by defeated candidates and lamented by the Organization of American States, which deployed an observation mission to the poll held on 30 November.
Asfura has already declared himself the elected president. “Honduras, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [electoral council]. I acknowledge the great work undertaken by the councillors and the whole staff that ran 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 posted a number of messages alleging fraud in the counting process, including “forgery of public documents”, asserting that “the data from the original tally sheets were altered”.
The election board is composed of three councillors: one aligned 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 victory was announced only by the first two councillors.
The member associated with the president’s party rejected the result, claimed that an “electoral coup” 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 people of Honduras, expressed sovereignly at the ballot box, the plenary session of the CNE declares Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah constitutional president of the Republic of Honduras for the presidential term starting 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”
The proclamation prior to the conclusion of the recount was the most recent in a string of controversies that marked the Central American country’s election campaign, beginning with what many saw as open interference by the American head of state.
Days before the vote, Trump publicly backed Asfura, said the US would back the next government only if he won, and attacked the other main contenders, labeling them communists or associates of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.
On the eve of the election, the American leader also announced a pardon for the former Honduran president and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for allegedly establishing “a major drug trafficking route to the United States”.
The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on social media. “The citizens of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” stated Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to the elected president Asfura and looks forward to working with his government to promote prosperity and safety in our region.”
