Trump-Backed Candidate Asfura Proclaimed New Head of State of Honduras
Donald Trump-backed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the victor of Honduras’s race for the presidency following a ballot tally that extended for almost a month 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, against 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 ballots.
The electoral council proclaimed a winner prior to finishing the examination of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” launched last week to recount votes marked as “irregular”. The move was criticised by unsuccessful contenders and deplored by the OAS, which sent an monitoring team to the poll held on 30 November.
Asfura has proclaimed himself as the elected president. “The nation, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [electoral council]. I acknowledge the great work undertaken by the councillors and the entire team that administered the election. Honduras: I am prepared to lead. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.
Nasralla refused to concede and published a series of statements alleging fraud in the counting process, including “forgery of public documents”, claiming that “the figures from the original tally sheets were changed”.
The electoral council 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 finished third. Asfura’s victory was declared only by the first two councillors.
The representative linked to the president’s party refused to recognise the outcome, alleged that an “electoral coup” was under way and filed a legal challenge with the attorney general, opening the possibility that the result will be challenged in court.
In its announcement, the council declared: “By the sovereign choice of the people of Honduras, expressed sovereignly at the polls, the plenary session of the CNE declares 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 proclamation before the end of the recount was the most recent in a string of controversies that characterized the Central American country’s election campaign, starting with what many saw as open interference by the US president.
Days before the vote, Trump publicly backed Asfura, said the US would support the next government only if he won, and attacked the other leading candidates, calling them socialists or associates of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.
On the night 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 establishing “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.
The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on social media. “The people of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” stated Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and anticipates working with his administration to advance economic growth and security in our region.”
