Trump-Backed Candidate Asfura Proclaimed New Head of State of Honduras
Former President Trump-endorsed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the victor of Honduras’s race for the presidency after a vote count that dragged on for almost a month and was overshadowed by claims of irregularities and criticism of interference by the American leader.
The rightwing Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and former mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 ballots.
The electoral council proclaimed a winner prior to finishing the review of all vote records under a “special scrutiny” initiated last week to recount votes marked as “irregular”. The decision was criticised by defeated candidates and deplored by the Organization of American States, which deployed an monitoring team 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 [supreme electoral tribunal]. I recognise the great work undertaken by the councillors and the whole staff that administered the election. Honduras: I am ready to govern. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he stated.
Nasralla declined to accept defeat and posted a series of statements claiming manipulation in the counting process, including “forgery of public documents”, asserting that “the figures from the original tally sheets were changed”.
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 finished third. Asfura’s win was declared only by the first two councillors.
The member linked to the president’s party refused to recognise the outcome, alleged that an “electoral coup” was under way and lodged a legal challenge with the public prosecutor’s office, opening the possibility that the result will be challenged in the judiciary.
In its statement, the council said: “By the sovereign choice of the Honduran people, 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 beginning on 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”
The proclamation prior to the conclusion of the review was the latest in a string of disputes that characterized the Central American country’s election campaign, starting with what many saw as blatant meddling 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 main contenders, calling them socialists or allies of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.
On the eve of the election, the American leader also granted clemency for the former Honduran president and Asfura supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for allegedly creating “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.
The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on a public platform. “The people of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and looks forward to working with his administration to promote economic growth and security in our region.”
