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

Former President Trump-endorsed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the victor of Honduras’s presidential election after a ballot tally that extended for almost a month and was overshadowed by claims of irregularities and accusations of interference by the US president.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and former mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 ballots.

The election authority declared a victor before completing the review of all tally sheets under a “extraordinary review” initiated last week to re-tally votes marked as “irregular”. The decision was criticised by unsuccessful contenders and deplored by the OAS, which sent an observation mission to the election held on 30 November.

Asfura has proclaimed himself as the elected president. “The nation, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I recognise the tremendous effort carried out by the members and the whole staff that ran the election. Honduras: 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 alleging fraud in the tallying procedure, including “tampering with official records”, claiming that “the data from the initial count sheets were altered”.

The election board is composed of three members: 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 representative associated with the president’s party refused to recognise the result, alleged that an “electoral coup” was taking place and filed a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office, raising the prospect that the result 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 proclaims Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah legitimate president of the Republic of Honduras for the presidential term beginning on 27 January 2026 and ending on 27 January 2030.”

The declaration prior to the conclusion of the review was the latest in a string of disputes that marked the Central American country’s presidential race, starting with what many saw as open interference by the US president.

Shortly prior to the vote, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, said the US would support the next government only if he won, and criticized the other main contenders, labeling them socialists or allies 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 supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 45 years in prison for reportedly creating “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.

The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on a public platform. “The citizens of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” stated Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to president-elect Asfura and looks forward to working with his government to promote prosperity and security in our hemisphere.”