Former US President-Endorsed Candidate Asfura Proclaimed Incoming Head of State of Honduras
Former President Trump-endorsed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the victor of Honduras’s race for the presidency following a ballot tally that extended for nearly four weeks and was overshadowed by fraud allegations and criticism of meddling from the American leader.
The conservative Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and former mayor of the capital, 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 electoral council proclaimed a winner before completing the review of all vote records under a “special scrutiny” launched last week to re-tally votes marked as “irregular”. The decision was criticised by unsuccessful contenders and deplored by the Organization of American States, which sent an monitoring team to the poll 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 acknowledge the tremendous effort carried out by the councillors and the whole staff that administered the election. Honduras: I am prepared to lead. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he stated.
Nasralla refused to concede and posted a number of messages claiming manipulation in the counting process, including “forgery of public documents”, claiming that “the data 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 progressive president, Xiomara Castro, whose nominee finished third. Asfura’s win 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 said: “By the majority will of the people of Honduras, expressed freely at the polls, the plenary session 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 proclamation prior to the conclusion of the recount was the most recent in a string of disputes that marked the Central American country’s election campaign, starting with what many saw as blatant meddling by the American head of state.
Shortly prior to the election, Trump publicly backed Asfura, stated the US would back the next government only if he was victorious, and attacked the other leading candidates, calling them socialists or associates of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.
On the eve of the election, the American leader also granted clemency for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for allegedly creating “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.
The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on a public platform. “The people of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and anticipates collaborating with his administration to promote prosperity and safety in our region.”
