Former US President-Endorsed Contender Asfura Declared Incoming Head of State of the Central American Nation
Former President Trump-endorsed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was announced as the winner of Honduras’s presidential election after a ballot tally that dragged on for almost a month and was overshadowed by fraud allegations and criticism of interference by the US president.
The rightwing 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 moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 votes.
The election authority proclaimed a winner prior to finishing the review of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” initiated last week to re-tally votes flagged as “inconsistent”. The move was decried by defeated candidates and deplored by the Organization of American States, which deployed an monitoring team to the election held on 30 November.
Asfura has proclaimed himself as president-elect. “The nation, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I recognise the tremendous effort carried out by the members and the whole staff 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 posted a number of messages claiming manipulation in the counting process, including “tampering with official records”, asserting that “the figures from the original tally sheets were altered”.
The election board 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 nominee came in third place. Asfura’s victory was announced only by the first two councillors.
The representative linked to the president’s party rejected the result, claimed that an “electoral coup” was under way and lodged a legal challenge with the attorney general, opening the possibility that the outcome will be contested in the judiciary.
In its announcement, the council declared: “By the sovereign choice of the Honduran people, expressed sovereignly at the ballot box, the full council 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 declaration before the end of the review was the most recent in a string of controversies that marked the Central American country’s presidential race, beginning with what many saw as blatant meddling by the US president.
Shortly prior to the election, Trump publicly backed Asfura, stated the US would back the next government only if he was victorious, and criticized the other leading candidates, calling them communists 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 ally 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, offered congratulations to Asfura on a public platform. “The people of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and looks forward to collaborating with his government to advance economic growth and security in our region.”
