Trump-Backed Contender Asfura Proclaimed New President of the Central American Nation

Donald Trump-backed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the victor of Honduras’s race for the presidency after a ballot tally that extended for almost a month and was marred by fraud allegations and accusations of interference by the US president.

The rightwing 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 votes.

The election authority declared a victor prior to finishing the review of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” initiated last week to recount votes flagged as “inconsistent”. The decision was decried by defeated candidates and deplored by the Organization of American States, which deployed an observation mission to the poll held on 30 November.

Asfura has already declared himself president-elect. “The nation, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [electoral council]. I acknowledge the tremendous effort carried out by the members and the entire team that ran the election. Honduras: I am ready to govern. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he stated.

Nasralla declined to accept defeat and posted a series of statements claiming manipulation in the counting process, including “forgery of public documents”, claiming that “the figures from the original tally sheets were altered”.

The electoral council is made up of three members: one aligned with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the leftist president, Xiomara Castro, whose candidate 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 result, claimed that an “stolen election” was under way and lodged a complaint with the attorney general, opening the possibility that the outcome will be challenged in the judiciary.

In its announcement, the council said: “By the sovereign choice of the people of Honduras, expressed sovereignly at the polls, the plenary session of the CNE proclaims Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah legitimate president of the Republic of Honduras for the presidential term beginning on 27 January 2026 and ending on 27 January 2030.”

The proclamation prior to the conclusion of the recount was the most recent in a series 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 openly endorsed Asfura, said the US would support the next government only if he was victorious, and attacked the other leading candidates, labeling them socialists or allies of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.

On the eve of the election, the US president also granted clemency for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 45 years in prison for reportedly creating “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on social media. “The citizens of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates the elected president Asfura and looks forward to collaborating with his government to advance economic growth and security in our region.”