Former US President-Endorsed Candidate Asfura Proclaimed Incoming President of the Central American Nation

Former President Trump-endorsed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the victor of Honduras’s race for the presidency following a ballot tally that dragged on for nearly four weeks and was marred by claims of irregularities and criticism of meddling from the US president.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and ex-mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, compared to 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 ballots.

The electoral council declared a victor before completing the examination of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” launched last week to recount votes flagged as “irregular”. The move was criticised by defeated candidates and lamented by the OAS, which deployed an monitoring team to the poll held on 30 November.

Asfura has already declared himself president-elect. “Honduras, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [electoral council]. I recognise the tremendous effort undertaken by the members and the entire team that ran the election. Honduras: I am ready to govern. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he stated.

Nasralla declined to accept defeat and published a number of messages alleging fraud in the tallying procedure, including “tampering with official records”, claiming that “the figures from the initial count sheets were altered”.

The election board is made up of three members: one affiliated with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the leftist president, Xiomara Castro, whose nominee finished third. Asfura’s victory was announced 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 lodged a legal challenge with the attorney general, opening the possibility that the result will be contested in the judiciary.

In its statement, the council declared: “By the majority will of the Honduran people, expressed sovereignly at the ballot box, the full council of the CNE proclaims Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah constitutional president of the Republic of Honduras for the four-year term beginning on 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”

The declaration prior to the conclusion of the review was the most recent in a series of controversies that characterized the Central American country’s election campaign, starting with what many saw as open interference by the US president.

Shortly prior to the election, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, stated the US would back the next government only if he was victorious, and attacked the other main contenders, calling them socialists or allies of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.

On the night of the election, the US president also announced a pardon for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for allegedly establishing “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.

The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on a public platform. “The citizens of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates the elected president Asfura and anticipates collaborating with his administration to promote prosperity and security in our region.”