Trump-Backed Candidate Asfura Proclaimed Incoming President of the Central American Nation

Donald Trump-backed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the winner of Honduras’s race for the presidency after a vote count that extended for nearly four weeks and was marred by fraud allegations and accusations of meddling from 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 votes.

The election authority proclaimed a winner prior to finishing the review of all tally sheets under a “extraordinary review” initiated last week to recount votes marked as “irregular”. The move was decried by defeated candidates and lamented 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. “Honduras, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I recognise the great work carried out 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 stated.

Nasralla refused to concede and published a series of statements alleging fraud in the counting process, including “forgery of public documents”, claiming that “the figures from the original tally sheets were altered”.

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 came in third place. Asfura’s victory was announced only by the initial pair of councillors.

The member linked to the president’s party rejected the result, alleged that an “electoral coup” was taking place and filed a complaint with the attorney general, raising the prospect that the outcome will be contested in court.

In its statement, the council said: “By the sovereign choice of the people of Honduras, expressed sovereignly at the polls, the plenary session of the CNE proclaims Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah constitutional president of the Republic of Honduras for the four-year term beginning on 27 January 2026 and ending on 27 January 2030.”

The declaration prior to the conclusion of the review was the latest in a series of disputes that marked the Central American country’s election campaign, beginning with what many saw as open interference by the US president.

Days before the vote, Trump publicly backed Asfura, stated the US would support the next government only if he was victorious, and criticized the other leading candidates, labeling them socialists or allies of Venezuela’s dictator, 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 establishing “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’ next president,” stated Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and looks forward to working with his government to advance economic growth and safety in our hemisphere.”