Trump-Backed Contender Asfura Proclaimed Incoming Head of State 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 extended for nearly four weeks and was clouded by claims of irregularities and accusations of meddling from the American leader.

The conservative Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and former 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 electoral council proclaimed a winner before completing the review of all vote records under a “extraordinary review” launched last week to recount votes flagged as “inconsistent”. The move was criticised by defeated candidates and deplored by the OAS, which deployed an observation mission to the poll held on 30 November.

Asfura has already declared himself president-elect. “Honduras, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I acknowledge the tremendous effort carried out by the members and the whole staff that ran the election. Honduras: I am ready to govern. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.

Nasralla declined to accept defeat and posted a series of statements claiming manipulation in the tallying procedure, including “tampering with official records”, asserting that “the data from the initial count 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 progressive president, Xiomara Castro, whose nominee came in third place. Asfura’s win was declared only by the initial pair of councillors.

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

In its statement, the council said: “By the majority will of the people of Honduras, expressed freely at the ballot box, the full council of the CNE proclaims 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 declaration before the end of the recount was the most recent in a series of disputes that marked the Central American country’s presidential race, starting with what many saw as open interference by the US president.

Shortly prior to the election, Trump publicly backed Asfura, stated the US would support the next government only if he won, and criticized the other leading candidates, calling them communists or allies of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.

On the night of the election, the US president 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 US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on a public platform. “The people of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” said Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to the elected president Asfura and anticipates working with his government to promote prosperity and security in our hemisphere.”