Former US President-Endorsed Candidate Asfura Proclaimed New President of the Central American Nation

Donald Trump-backed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the victor of Honduras’s presidential election following a vote count that extended for nearly four weeks and was overshadowed by claims of irregularities and criticism of meddling from the US president.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and former mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, obtained 40.27% of the vote, against 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 vote records under a “extraordinary review” launched last week to recount votes marked as “irregular”. The decision was decried by defeated candidates and deplored by the Organization of American States, which deployed 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 [supreme electoral tribunal]. I acknowledge the great work undertaken by the councillors and the entire team 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 published a number of messages claiming manipulation in the tallying procedure, including “tampering with official records”, asserting that “the figures from the initial count sheets were changed”.

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 leftist president, Xiomara Castro, whose candidate finished third. Asfura’s win was declared only by the initial pair of councillors.

The representative associated with the president’s party refused to recognise the result, alleged that an “stolen election” was under way and filed a legal challenge with the public prosecutor’s office, opening the possibility that the outcome will be challenged in court.

In its statement, the council said: “By the sovereign choice of the people of Honduras, expressed sovereignly at the ballot box, the plenary session of the CNE declares Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah constitutional president of the Republic of Honduras for the presidential term starting 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”

The proclamation before the end of the review was the latest in a string of controversies that marked the Central American country’s election campaign, starting with what many saw as open interference by the American head of state.

Shortly prior to the election, Trump publicly backed Asfura, said the US would support the next government only if he was victorious, and attacked the other leading candidates, labeling them communists or allies of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.

On the eve of the election, the American leader also granted clemency for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for reportedly establishing “a major drug trafficking route to the United States”.

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on social media. “The citizens of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” said 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.”