Trump-Backed Candidate Asfura Declared Incoming President of the Central American Nation

Donald Trump-backed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura was announced as the winner of Honduras’s race for the presidency after a ballot tally that extended for nearly four weeks and was clouded by claims of irregularities and criticism of interference by the US president.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and ex-mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, secured 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 declared a victor prior to finishing the review of all vote records under a “special scrutiny” initiated last week to re-tally votes flagged as “inconsistent”. The decision was decried by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the OAS, which deployed an monitoring team to the poll held on 30 November.

Asfura has already declared himself president-elect. “Honduras, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [electoral council]. I acknowledge the tremendous effort undertaken by the members and the whole staff that ran the election. My fellow citizens: I am prepared to lead. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he stated.

Nasralla refused to concede and posted a number of messages alleging fraud in the counting process, including “forgery of public documents”, asserting that “the figures from the initial count sheets were altered”.

The electoral council is made up of three councillors: one affiliated with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the progressive 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 refused to recognise the outcome, alleged that an “electoral coup” was under way and lodged a legal challenge with the public prosecutor’s office, opening the possibility that the result will be challenged in the judiciary.

In its announcement, the council declared: “By the majority will of the Honduran people, expressed freely 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 beginning on 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”

The declaration prior to the conclusion of the recount was the latest in a series of controversies that marked the Central American country’s election campaign, beginning with what many saw as open interference by the US president.

Days before the vote, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, stated the US would back the next government only if he was victorious, and criticized the other leading candidates, calling 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 former Honduran president and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 45 years in prison for reportedly creating “a major drug trafficking route to the United States”.

The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on social media. “The people of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” said Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to president-elect Asfura and anticipates working with his administration to promote prosperity and security in our region.”