Trump-Backed Contender Asfura Declared New President of the Central American Nation

Former President Trump-endorsed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the victor of Honduras’s presidential election after a ballot tally that dragged on 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 city, Tegucigalpa, obtained 40.27% of the vote, compared to 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 votes.

The election authority proclaimed a winner before completing the examination of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” initiated last week to recount votes marked as “irregular”. The decision was decried by unsuccessful contenders and deplored by the OAS, which sent an observation mission to the election held on 30 November.

Asfura has proclaimed himself as the elected president. “Honduras, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I acknowledge the great work undertaken by the members and the entire team that administered the election. My fellow citizens: I am prepared to lead. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.

Nasralla declined to accept defeat and published a series of statements claiming manipulation in the tallying procedure, including “forgery of public documents”, claiming that “the data from the initial count sheets were changed”.

The election board 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 candidate came in third place. Asfura’s win was declared only by the first two councillors.

The member linked to the president’s party refused to recognise the result, claimed that an “electoral coup” was taking place and filed a legal challenge with the public prosecutor’s office, opening the possibility that the result will be contested in court.

In its statement, the council said: “By the sovereign choice of the Honduran people, expressed freely at the polls, 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 characterized the Central American country’s presidential race, beginning with what many saw as open interference by the American head of state.

Days before 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 allies of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.

On the night of the election, the American leader also announced a pardon for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 45 years in prison for reportedly establishing “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.

The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on a public platform. “The citizens of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” stated Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to the elected president Asfura and anticipates working with his government to advance prosperity and security in our region.”