Former US President-Endorsed Contender Asfura Declared New President of Honduras
Former President Trump-endorsed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the victor of Honduras’s race for the presidency after a ballot tally that extended for almost a month and was marred by fraud allegations and accusations of meddling from the US president.
The conservative Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and former mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, obtained 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 ballots.
The electoral council proclaimed a winner prior to finishing the review of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” initiated last week to recount votes marked as “inconsistent”. The decision was criticised by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the OAS, which sent an monitoring team to the poll held on 30 November.
Asfura has proclaimed himself as president-elect. “The nation, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I acknowledge the great work undertaken by the councillors and the whole staff that administered the election. My fellow citizens: I am ready to govern. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he stated.
Nasralla refused to concede and published a number of messages claiming manipulation in the tallying procedure, including “tampering with official records”, claiming that “the figures from the initial count sheets were changed”.
The electoral council is composed 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 representative linked to the president’s party refused to recognise the result, alleged that an “electoral coup” was taking place and filed a legal challenge with the public prosecutor’s office, opening the possibility that the outcome will be challenged 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 legitimate president of the Republic of Honduras for the presidential term starting 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”
The proclamation before the end of the recount was the most recent in a series of controversies that marked the Central American country’s election campaign, starting with what many saw as blatant meddling by the US president.
Shortly prior to the election, Trump publicly backed Asfura, said the US would back the next government only if he was victorious, 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 ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 45 years in prison for reportedly establishing “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on social media. “The people of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates the elected president Asfura and looks forward to collaborating with his government to advance prosperity and safety in our hemisphere.”