Trump-Backed Contender Asfura Declared New President of the Central American Nation

Donald Trump-backed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the victor of Honduras’s presidential election after a ballot tally that extended for nearly four weeks and was overshadowed by fraud allegations and criticism of interference by 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 ballots.

The election authority proclaimed a winner before completing the review of all vote records under a “extraordinary review” initiated last week to re-tally votes flagged as “irregular”. The move was criticised by defeated candidates and lamented by the OAS, which sent an observation mission to the election held on 30 November.

Asfura has proclaimed himself as president-elect. “The nation, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [electoral council]. I acknowledge the tremendous effort carried out by the members and the entire team that ran the election. My fellow citizens: I am ready to govern. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he stated.

Nasralla declined to accept defeat and posted a number of messages claiming manipulation in the tallying procedure, including “forgery of public documents”, claiming that “the figures from the original tally sheets were changed”.

The electoral council is made up 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 candidate finished third. Asfura’s victory was declared only by the initial pair of councillors.

The representative associated with the president’s party refused to recognise the outcome, alleged that an “electoral coup” was taking place and filed a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office, raising the prospect that the outcome will be challenged in the judiciary.

In its statement, the council said: “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 concluding on 27 January 2030.”

The proclamation prior to the conclusion of the review was the most recent in a string of disputes that characterized the Central American country’s presidential race, starting with what many saw as open interference by the American head of state.

Shortly prior to the vote, Trump publicly backed Asfura, stated the US would support the next government only if he was victorious, and attacked the other leading candidates, labeling them communists or associates of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.

On the night of the election, the US president also announced a pardon for the former Honduran president and Asfura supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 45 years in prison for reportedly creating “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 congratulates president-elect Asfura and anticipates working with his administration to promote economic growth and safety in our hemisphere.”