Former US President-Endorsed Contender Asfura Declared New President of the Central American Nation

Former President Trump-endorsed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the winner of Honduras’s race for the presidency following a ballot tally that extended for nearly four weeks and was clouded by fraud allegations and accusations of interference by the US president.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a building tycoon 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 margin of just 28,000 votes.

The electoral council proclaimed a winner prior to finishing the review of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” launched last week to re-tally votes marked as “inconsistent”. The decision was decried by defeated candidates and deplored by the Organization of American States, which deployed an monitoring team 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 [electoral council]. I acknowledge the tremendous effort carried out by the members and the whole staff that administered the election. Honduras: I am prepared to lead. 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 “tampering with official records”, claiming that “the data from the original tally sheets were changed”.

The election board is made up 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 candidate came in third place. Asfura’s win was announced only by the initial pair of councillors.

The member linked to the president’s party rejected the outcome, alleged that an “electoral coup” was taking place and lodged a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office, opening the possibility that the result will be challenged in the judiciary.

In its announcement, the council said: “By the sovereign choice 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 proclamation before the end of the review was the most recent in a series of controversies that marked the Central American country’s presidential race, starting with what many saw as open interference by the US president.

Days before the election, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, said the US would support the next government only if he won, and attacked the other leading candidates, calling them socialists or allies of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.

On the night of the election, the American leader also granted clemency for the former Honduran president and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 45 years in prison for reportedly establishing “a major drug trafficking route to the United States”.

The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on social media. “The people of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” said Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to president-elect Asfura and anticipates working with his government to promote prosperity and safety in our region.”