Trump-Backed Contender Asfura Proclaimed Incoming Head of State of the Central American Nation

Former President Trump-endorsed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the victor of Honduras’s race for the presidency after a vote count that dragged on for nearly four weeks and was clouded by fraud allegations and criticism of interference by the American leader.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and former mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, compared to 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 ballots.

The electoral council proclaimed a winner before completing the review of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” initiated last week to re-tally votes flagged as “irregular”. The decision was criticised by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the OAS, which sent an observation mission to the election held on 30 November.

Asfura has already declared himself 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 administered the election. My fellow citizens: I am ready to govern. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.

Nasralla refused to concede and published a number of messages claiming manipulation in the counting process, including “forgery of public documents”, asserting that “the data from the initial count sheets were altered”.

The election board 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 nominee came in third place. Asfura’s win was announced only by the initial pair of councillors.

The member linked to the president’s party rejected the result, claimed that an “stolen election” was taking place and lodged a legal challenge with the attorney general, raising the prospect that the outcome will be challenged in the judiciary.

In its statement, the council declared: “By the sovereign choice of the people of Honduras, expressed freely at the polls, the full council of the CNE declares Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah legitimate president of the Republic of Honduras for the four-year term starting 27 January 2026 and ending on 27 January 2030.”

The proclamation before the end of the recount was the latest in a series of controversies that marked the Central American country’s election campaign, beginning with what many saw as blatant meddling by the American head of state.

Days before the vote, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, said the US would back the next government only if he was victorious, and attacked the other main contenders, labeling them communists or associates of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.

On the night of the election, the US president also granted clemency for the former Honduran president and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for allegedly establishing “a major drug trafficking route to the United States”.

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on a public platform. “The people of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” stated Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to president-elect Asfura and looks forward to working with his administration to advance prosperity and safety in our hemisphere.”