Former US President-Endorsed Contender Asfura Declared Incoming President of the Central American Nation

Donald Trump-backed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the winner of Honduras’s presidential election following a ballot tally that extended for nearly four weeks and was marred by fraud allegations and accusations of meddling from the American leader.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and former mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, obtained 40.27% of the vote, compared to 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 votes.

The electoral council declared a victor before completing the examination of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” launched last week to re-tally votes flagged as “irregular”. The decision was decried by defeated candidates and deplored by the Organization of American States, which deployed an monitoring team to the election 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 tremendous effort undertaken by the councillors and the whole staff that administered the election. My fellow citizens: I am prepared to lead. 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 “tampering with official records”, asserting that “the data from the original tally sheets were changed”.

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 progressive president, Xiomara Castro, whose candidate came in third place. Asfura’s victory was declared only by the initial pair of councillors.

The representative linked to the president’s party rejected the outcome, alleged that an “stolen election” was taking place and lodged a legal challenge with the public prosecutor’s office, raising the prospect that the outcome will be challenged in the judiciary.

In its announcement, the council declared: “By the sovereign choice of the people of Honduras, expressed freely 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 concluding on 27 January 2030.”

The declaration prior to the conclusion of the recount was the latest in a string of disputes that characterized the Central American country’s election campaign, starting with what many saw as blatant meddling by the US president.

Days before the election, Trump publicly backed Asfura, stated the US would back the next government only if he was victorious, and criticized the other main contenders, calling them socialists or allies of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.

On the night of the election, the US president 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 establishing “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.

The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to 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 collaborating with his administration to promote economic growth and security in our hemisphere.”