Trump-Backed Contender Asfura Proclaimed Incoming President of Honduras
Former President Trump-endorsed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was announced as the victor of Honduras’s race for the presidency following a ballot tally that extended for nearly four weeks and was overshadowed by claims of irregularities and criticism of meddling from the American leader.
The conservative 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 moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 votes.
The election authority proclaimed a winner prior to finishing the examination of all vote records under a “special scrutiny” launched last week to re-tally votes flagged as “inconsistent”. The move was decried by defeated candidates and deplored 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 great work carried out 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 refused to concede and posted a series of statements claiming manipulation in the counting process, including “forgery of public documents”, asserting that “the figures from the original tally sheets were altered”.
The electoral council is composed 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 nominee finished third. Asfura’s win was announced only by the first two councillors.
The representative linked to the president’s party rejected the result, claimed that an “electoral coup” was taking place and filed a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office, opening the possibility that the result will be challenged in the judiciary.
In its statement, the council declared: “By the majority will of the Honduran people, expressed sovereignly at the polls, the full council of the CNE proclaims Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah constitutional president of the Republic of Honduras for the presidential term beginning on 27 January 2026 and ending on 27 January 2030.”
The proclamation before the end of the recount was the most recent in a string of disputes that marked the Central American country’s election campaign, beginning with what many saw as blatant meddling by the US president.
Days before the vote, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, said the US would support the next government only if he was victorious, and attacked the other main contenders, labeling them socialists or associates of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.
On the eve of the election, the US president also granted clemency for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 45 years in prison for reportedly creating “a major drug trafficking route 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 congratulates the elected president Asfura and looks forward to collaborating with his administration to promote prosperity and security in our region.”
