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 following a ballot tally that extended for almost a month and was overshadowed by claims of irregularities and accusations 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, against 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 votes.
The electoral council declared a victor prior to finishing the review of all vote records under a “special scrutiny” initiated last week to recount votes marked as “inconsistent”. The move was decried by defeated candidates and deplored by the OAS, which deployed 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 [supreme electoral tribunal]. I recognise the great work carried out by the councillors and the whole staff that ran the election. My fellow citizens: I am ready to govern. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he stated.
Nasralla refused to concede and published a number of messages claiming manipulation in the tallying procedure, including “forgery of public documents”, claiming that “the figures from the original tally 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 came in third place. Asfura’s victory was declared only by the initial pair of councillors.
The member associated with the president’s party refused to recognise the result, claimed that an “electoral coup” was under way and filed 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 majority will 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 four-year term starting 27 January 2026 and concluding 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 election campaign, starting with what many saw as blatant meddling by the US president.
Shortly prior to the vote, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, stated the US would back the next government only if he won, and attacked the other leading candidates, labeling them socialists or associates of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.
On the night 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 reportedly creating “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on social media. “The citizens of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and anticipates collaborating with his administration to promote prosperity and security in our hemisphere.”
