Trump-Backed Candidate Asfura Declared Incoming Head of State of the Central American Nation

Donald Trump-backed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura was announced as the victor of Honduras’s presidential election following a vote count that extended for almost a month and was marred by fraud allegations and criticism of meddling from the US president.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and former 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 ballots.

The election authority proclaimed a winner before completing the examination of all vote records under a “extraordinary review” launched last week to re-tally votes flagged as “irregular”. The decision was decried by defeated candidates and lamented by the OAS, which deployed an observation mission to the election held on 30 November.

Asfura has proclaimed himself as the elected president. “The nation, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I recognise the tremendous effort undertaken by the councillors and the entire team that administered the election. Honduras: I am prepared to lead. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.

Nasralla refused to concede and posted a series of statements claiming manipulation in the counting process, including “tampering with official records”, asserting that “the data from the initial count sheets were altered”.

The electoral council is made up of three councillors: one aligned with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the progressive president, Xiomara Castro, whose candidate came in third place. Asfura’s win was announced only by the initial pair of councillors.

The member associated with the president’s party refused to recognise the outcome, claimed that an “stolen election” was taking place and filed a legal challenge with the public prosecutor’s office, raising the prospect that the outcome will be challenged in court.

In its announcement, the council said: “By the majority will of the Honduran people, expressed sovereignly at the polls, 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 before the end of the recount was the latest in a series of controversies that characterized the Central American country’s presidential race, beginning with what many saw as open interference by the US president.

Shortly prior to the election, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, said the US would support the next government only if he won, and attacked the other main contenders, labeling them socialists or allies of Venezuela’s dictator, 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, congratulated Asfura on social media. “The people of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” said Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to the elected president Asfura and anticipates working with his administration to advance economic growth and safety in our hemisphere.”