Former US President-Endorsed Candidate Asfura Proclaimed New Head of State of Honduras

Donald Trump-backed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the winner of Honduras’s presidential election following a vote count that dragged on for nearly four weeks and was clouded by claims of irregularities and accusations of meddling from the US president.

The conservative Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and ex-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 ballots.

The electoral council proclaimed a winner before completing the examination of all tally sheets under a “extraordinary review” initiated last week to re-tally votes marked as “irregular”. The move was decried by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the OAS, which sent an monitoring team to the poll held on 30 November.

Asfura has already declared himself president-elect. “The nation, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I recognise the great work carried out by the members and the entire team that administered the election. My fellow citizens: I am prepared to lead. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he stated.

Nasralla declined to accept defeat and posted a number of messages claiming manipulation in the counting process, including “forgery of public documents”, claiming that “the figures from the initial count sheets were altered”.

The electoral council is composed 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 representative associated with the president’s party rejected the result, claimed 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 announcement, the council said: “By the sovereign choice of the people of Honduras, expressed sovereignly at the ballot box, the full council 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 ending on 27 January 2030.”

The declaration prior to the conclusion of the review was the most recent 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.

Shortly prior to the election, Trump publicly backed Asfura, said the US would support the next government only if he won, and criticized the other main contenders, labeling them socialists or associates 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 supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 45 years in prison for reportedly establishing “a cocaine superhighway 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,” stated Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and looks forward to collaborating with his administration to promote prosperity and safety in our hemisphere.”