Former US President-Endorsed Candidate Asfura Declared Incoming Head of State of Honduras
Former President Trump-endorsed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the victor of Honduras’s race for the presidency following a vote count that dragged on for almost a month and was marred by fraud allegations and criticism of interference by the US president.
The rightwing Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and former mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, secured 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 proclaimed a winner before completing the review of all tally sheets under a “extraordinary review” initiated last week to re-tally votes marked as “irregular”. The move was criticised by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the OAS, which sent 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 [electoral council]. I acknowledge the tremendous effort undertaken by the members and the entire team that ran the election. Honduras: I am ready to govern. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.
Nasralla refused to concede and published a series of statements alleging fraud 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 members: 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 representative linked to the president’s party rejected the outcome, alleged that an “electoral coup” was taking place and filed a complaint with the attorney general, raising the prospect that the result will be contested in the judiciary.
In its announcement, the council said: “By the sovereign choice 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 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 series of controversies that characterized the Central American country’s election campaign, beginning 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 leading candidates, calling them socialists or associates of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.
On the eve of the election, the American leader also announced a pardon for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for reportedly creating “a major drug trafficking route to the United States”.
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on social media. “The citizens of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” stated Rubio. “The United States congratulates the elected president Asfura and looks forward to working with his administration to advance prosperity and safety in our region.”
