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

Donald Trump-backed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the winner of Honduras’s race for the presidency after a ballot tally that dragged on for almost a month and was clouded by claims of irregularities and criticism of meddling from the US president.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and former 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 electoral council proclaimed a winner before completing the examination of all vote records under a “special scrutiny” initiated last week to re-tally votes flagged as “inconsistent”. The decision was criticised by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the Organization of American States, which sent an monitoring team to the election held on 30 November.

Asfura has proclaimed himself as president-elect. “The nation, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [electoral council]. I recognise the tremendous effort undertaken by the councillors and the entire team that ran the election. Honduras: I am prepared to lead. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.

Nasralla declined to accept defeat and posted a number of messages claiming manipulation in the counting process, including “tampering with official records”, asserting that “the figures from the original tally sheets were changed”.

The electoral council is made up of three members: one affiliated 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 announced only by the initial pair of councillors.

The member associated with the president’s party refused to recognise the result, alleged that an “electoral coup” was taking place and lodged a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office, opening the possibility that the outcome will be contested in court.

In its statement, the council said: “By the sovereign choice of the people of Honduras, expressed freely at the ballot box, the full council 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 ending on 27 January 2030.”

The proclamation prior to the conclusion of the recount was the latest in a series of disputes that marked the Central American country’s presidential race, beginning with what many saw as open interference by the American head of state.

Days before the vote, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, said the US would support the next government only if he was victorious, and criticized the other main contenders, calling them socialists or allies of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.

On the eve of the election, the American leader also granted clemency for the former Honduran president and Asfura supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for reportedly establishing “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.

The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to Asfura on a public platform. “The people of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” stated Rubio. “The United States congratulates the elected president Asfura and anticipates collaborating with his administration to advance economic growth and security in our region.”