Former US President-Endorsed Contender Asfura Proclaimed Incoming President of Honduras
Donald Trump-backed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura was announced as the victor of Honduras’s race for the presidency following a ballot tally that extended for nearly four weeks and was overshadowed by fraud allegations and criticism of interference by the American leader.
The conservative Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and ex-mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, obtained 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 ballots.
The election authority declared a victor prior to finishing the examination of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” initiated last week to recount votes flagged as “inconsistent”. The move was criticised by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the Organization of American States, which sent an observation mission to the election held on 30 November.
Asfura has proclaimed himself as the elected president. “Honduras, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I acknowledge the tremendous effort undertaken by the councillors and the whole staff that ran the election. My fellow citizens: I am prepared to lead. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.
Nasralla refused to concede and posted a number of messages alleging fraud in the tallying procedure, including “forgery of public documents”, asserting that “the data from the original tally sheets were changed”.
The electoral council is composed of three councillors: one affiliated with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the leftist president, Xiomara Castro, whose nominee finished third. Asfura’s victory was announced only by the first two councillors.
The representative associated with the president’s party rejected the result, claimed that an “electoral coup” was taking place and filed a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office, raising the prospect that the result will be challenged in the judiciary.
In its statement, the council said: “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 concluding on 27 January 2030.”
The declaration prior to the conclusion of the review was the latest in a series of controversies that characterized the Central American country’s presidential race, starting with what many saw as open interference by the US president.
Days before the election, 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 associates of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.
On the night of the election, the American leader also announced a pardon for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura ally 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, congratulated Asfura on social media. “The citizens of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and anticipates working with his government to promote prosperity and security in our hemisphere.”
