Former US President-Endorsed Candidate Asfura Declared New Head of State of the Central American Nation

Donald Trump-backed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was announced as the victor of Honduras’s race for the presidency after a vote count that extended for nearly four weeks and was overshadowed by claims of irregularities and accusations of meddling from 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 centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 votes.

The election authority declared a victor before completing the review of all vote records under a “special scrutiny” launched last week to recount votes flagged as “inconsistent”. The move was decried by unsuccessful contenders and deplored by the Organization of American States, which sent 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 [electoral council]. I recognise the tremendous effort carried out by the councillors and the whole staff that administered the election. Honduras: I am ready to govern. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he stated.

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

The electoral council is composed 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 refused to recognise the outcome, alleged that an “electoral coup” was under way and filed a legal challenge with the attorney general, raising the prospect that the outcome will be contested in court.

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 starting 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”

The declaration before the end 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 blatant meddling by the US president.

Shortly prior to the election, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, said 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 eve of the election, the American leader also announced a pardon for the ex-leader of Honduras 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 social media. “The citizens of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” stated Rubio. “The United States congratulates the elected president Asfura and anticipates collaborating with his administration to advance prosperity and safety in our region.”