Former US President-Endorsed Candidate Asfura Declared New Head of State of the Central American Nation

Donald Trump-backed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the winner of Honduras’s race for the presidency following a ballot tally that extended for almost a month and was clouded by fraud allegations and criticism of interference by the US president.

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

The electoral council declared a victor before completing the examination of all vote records under a “special scrutiny” launched last week to recount votes marked as “inconsistent”. The move was criticised by unsuccessful contenders and deplored by the Organization of American States, which sent an observation mission to the poll held on 30 November.

Asfura has proclaimed himself as president-elect. “Honduras, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [electoral council]. I recognise the tremendous effort undertaken by the members 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 published a series of statements alleging fraud in the tallying procedure, including “tampering with official records”, claiming that “the data from the initial count sheets were changed”.

The election board 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 finished third. Asfura’s victory was announced only by the initial pair of councillors.

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

In its announcement, the council said: “By the majority will 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 four-year term beginning on 27 January 2026 and ending on 27 January 2030.”

The declaration before the end of the recount was the most recent in a series of controversies that marked the Central American country’s presidential race, starting with what many saw as blatant meddling by the US president.

Shortly prior to the election, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, stated the US would back the next government only if he won, and attacked the other leading candidates, labeling them communists or allies of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.

On the eve of the election, the American leader also announced a pardon for the former Honduran president and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 45 years in prison for allegedly creating “a major drug trafficking route 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’ incoming leader,” said Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to president-elect Asfura and looks forward to working with his government to advance economic growth and security in our hemisphere.”