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

Donald Trump-backed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the victor of Honduras’s presidential election after a ballot tally that dragged on for nearly four weeks and was clouded by claims of irregularities and accusations of interference by the American leader.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and former mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 ballots.

The electoral council declared a victor before completing the examination of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” launched last week to recount votes flagged as “inconsistent”. The decision was decried by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the OAS, which deployed an observation mission to the election held on 30 November.

Asfura has proclaimed himself as the elected president. “The nation, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I acknowledge the tremendous effort carried out by the councillors and the whole staff that administered the election. My fellow citizens: I am ready to govern. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he stated.

Nasralla refused to concede and posted a series of statements alleging fraud in the counting process, including “tampering with official records”, claiming that “the data from the original tally sheets were altered”.

The election board is composed of three councillors: one affiliated with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the leftist president, Xiomara Castro, whose nominee finished third. Asfura’s victory was declared only by the initial pair of councillors.

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

In its statement, the council declared: “By the sovereign choice of the Honduran people, expressed sovereignly 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 starting 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 disputes that characterized the Central American country’s election campaign, beginning with what many saw as blatant meddling by the American head of state.

Days before the election, Trump publicly backed Asfura, stated the US would support the next government only if he won, and criticized the other leading candidates, calling them communists or associates of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.

On the eve of the election, the US president also announced a pardon for the former Honduran president and Asfura supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 45 years in prison for allegedly creating “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 spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and looks forward to working with his government to promote prosperity and safety in our region.”