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

Donald Trump-backed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the winner of Honduras’s presidential election after a vote count that extended for nearly four weeks and was clouded by fraud allegations and accusations of interference by the American leader.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and ex-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 review of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” launched last week to recount votes flagged as “irregular”. The decision was criticised by unsuccessful contenders and deplored by the Organization of American States, which sent an observation mission to the poll held on 30 November.

Asfura has already declared himself the elected president. “Honduras, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I acknowledge the tremendous effort undertaken by the members and the whole staff that ran the election. Honduras: I am ready to govern. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.

Nasralla refused to concede and posted a series of statements claiming manipulation in the counting process, including “tampering with official records”, claiming that “the data from the original tally sheets were altered”.

The electoral council 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 candidate came in third place. Asfura’s victory was declared only by the initial pair of councillors.

The member associated with the president’s party rejected the result, alleged that an “stolen election” was taking place and lodged 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 freely at the ballot box, the plenary session of the CNE declares Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah legitimate president of the Republic of Honduras for the four-year term beginning on 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”

The proclamation before the end of the review was the latest in a string of disputes that marked the Central American country’s presidential race, beginning with what many saw as open interference by the American head of state.

Days before the election, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, said the US would back the next government only if he was victorious, and attacked the other leading candidates, calling them communists or associates of Venezuela’s dictator, 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 allegedly establishing “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.

The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on a public platform. “The citizens of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” stated Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to president-elect Asfura and looks forward to collaborating with his government to promote prosperity and safety in our region.”