Former US President-Endorsed Contender Asfura Proclaimed Incoming President of the Central American Nation

Former President Trump-endorsed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the winner of Honduras’s race for the presidency following a vote count that extended for nearly four weeks and was clouded by claims of irregularities and accusations of interference by the US president.

The conservative 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 ballots.

The election authority proclaimed a winner before completing the review of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” initiated last week to recount votes marked as “irregular”. The decision was criticised by defeated candidates and deplored by the Organization of American States, which sent an monitoring team to the election held on 30 November.

Asfura has proclaimed himself as the elected president. “The nation, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [electoral council]. I recognise the tremendous effort undertaken 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 stated.

Nasralla declined to accept defeat and posted a number of messages alleging fraud in the tallying procedure, including “tampering with official records”, claiming that “the data from the original tally 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 finished third. Asfura’s win was declared only by the first two councillors.

The representative linked to the president’s party rejected 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 statement, the council said: “By the majority will of the people of Honduras, 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 ending on 27 January 2030.”

The declaration prior to the conclusion of the review was the latest in a series of disputes that marked the Central American country’s election campaign, starting with what many saw as open interference by the American head of state.

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

On the night 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 establishing “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on a public platform. “The people of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” stated Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to the elected president Asfura and anticipates collaborating with his government to promote prosperity and safety in our hemisphere.”