Trump-Backed Candidate Asfura Declared New Head of State of Honduras

Donald Trump-backed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the winner of Honduras’s presidential election after a ballot tally that extended for nearly four weeks and was overshadowed by fraud allegations and accusations of meddling from the US president.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and ex-mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 votes.

The election authority declared a victor prior to finishing the examination of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” launched last week to re-tally votes flagged as “inconsistent”. The decision was decried by defeated candidates and lamented by the Organization of American States, which sent an monitoring team to the poll held on 30 November.

Asfura has already declared himself the elected president. “Honduras, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I acknowledge the great work carried out by the members and the entire team that ran the election. My fellow citizens: I am ready to govern. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.

Nasralla declined to accept defeat and posted a series of statements alleging fraud in the counting process, including “forgery of public documents”, asserting that “the figures from the initial count sheets were changed”.

The election board is made up 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 came in third place. Asfura’s win was announced only by the first two councillors.

The representative linked to the president’s party rejected the outcome, claimed that an “stolen election” was taking place and lodged a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office, raising the prospect that the result will be challenged in court.

In its announcement, the council said: “By the sovereign choice of the people of Honduras, expressed freely at the polls, the plenary session of the CNE proclaims Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah constitutional president of the Republic of Honduras for the four-year term starting 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 controversies that marked the Central American country’s presidential race, beginning with what many saw as blatant meddling by the American head of state.

Shortly prior to the vote, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, said the US would back the next government only if he was victorious, and criticized the other main contenders, labeling them communists or allies of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.

On the eve of the election, the American leader also granted clemency for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for allegedly creating “a major drug trafficking route to the United States”.

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on social media. “The people of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and looks forward to working with his administration to promote prosperity and safety in our region.”