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

Former President Trump-endorsed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the winner of Honduras’s presidential election after a vote count that dragged on for almost a month and was clouded by claims of irregularities and criticism of interference by the US president.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and former mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, obtained 40.27% of the vote, compared to 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 votes.

The election authority declared a victor prior to finishing the examination of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” initiated last week to re-tally votes flagged as “inconsistent”. The decision was criticised by defeated candidates and deplored by the Organization of American States, which deployed an observation mission to the poll held on 30 November.

Asfura has already declared himself the elected president. “Honduras, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [electoral council]. I recognise the great work undertaken by the members and the whole staff that ran the election. My fellow citizens: I am prepared to lead. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.

Nasralla declined to accept defeat and posted a series of statements alleging fraud in the counting process, including “forgery of public documents”, claiming that “the data from the initial count sheets were altered”.

The electoral council is composed of three councillors: one aligned with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the leftist president, Xiomara Castro, whose nominee finished third. Asfura’s victory was declared only by the initial pair of councillors.

The representative linked to the president’s party refused to recognise the result, alleged that an “stolen election” was under way and lodged a complaint with the attorney general, opening the possibility that the result will be challenged in court.

In its statement, the council said: “By the sovereign choice of the Honduran people, expressed freely at the ballot box, the plenary session 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 declaration before the end of the review was the latest in a series of controversies that marked the Central American country’s election campaign, starting with what many saw as blatant meddling by the American head of state.

Days before the vote, Trump publicly backed Asfura, said the US would back the next government only if he won, and criticized the other main contenders, calling them communists or allies of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.

On the eve of the election, the US president also granted clemency for the former Honduran president and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 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 a public platform. “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 economic growth and safety in our region.”