🔗 Share this article Trump-Backed Candidate Asfura Proclaimed New President of Honduras Donald Trump-backed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the victor of Honduras’s presidential election after a vote count that extended for almost a month and was marred by fraud allegations and accusations of interference by the American leader. The conservative 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 centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 ballots. The electoral council proclaimed a winner prior to finishing the review of all vote records under a “extraordinary review” initiated last week to re-tally votes flagged as “irregular”. The move was criticised by unsuccessful contenders and deplored by the Organization of American States, which deployed an monitoring team to the poll held on 30 November. Asfura has proclaimed himself as president-elect. “The nation, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I acknowledge the great work undertaken by the members and the whole staff that administered the election. Honduras: I am prepared to lead. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he stated. Nasralla declined to accept defeat and published a number of messages alleging fraud in the tallying procedure, including “forgery of public documents”, claiming that “the figures from the initial count 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 progressive president, Xiomara Castro, whose nominee came in third place. Asfura’s win was declared only by the first two councillors. The representative linked to the president’s party refused to recognise the result, alleged that an “stolen election” was taking place and filed a complaint with the attorney general, opening the possibility that the result will be challenged in the judiciary. In its statement, the council declared: “By the majority will of the people of Honduras, expressed sovereignly at the polls, the full council of the CNE proclaims Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah legitimate president of the Republic of Honduras for the four-year term beginning on 27 January 2026 and ending on 27 January 2030.” The declaration before the end of the review was the latest in a string of controversies that characterized the Central American country’s presidential race, beginning with what many saw as blatant meddling by the American head of state. Shortly prior to the vote, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, stated the US would back the next government only if he won, and criticized the other main contenders, calling them communists or allies of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro. On the eve of the election, the US president also announced a pardon for the former Honduran president and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for reportedly creating “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”. The US secretary of state, 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 congratulates the elected president Asfura and looks forward to collaborating with his government to promote prosperity and safety in our region.”
Donald Trump-backed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the victor of Honduras’s presidential election after a vote count that extended for almost a month and was marred by fraud allegations and accusations of interference by the American leader. The conservative 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 centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 ballots. The electoral council proclaimed a winner prior to finishing the review of all vote records under a “extraordinary review” initiated last week to re-tally votes flagged as “irregular”. The move was criticised by unsuccessful contenders and deplored by the Organization of American States, which deployed an monitoring team to the poll held on 30 November. Asfura has proclaimed himself as president-elect. “The nation, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I acknowledge the great work undertaken by the members and the whole staff that administered the election. Honduras: I am prepared to lead. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he stated. Nasralla declined to accept defeat and published a number of messages alleging fraud in the tallying procedure, including “forgery of public documents”, claiming that “the figures from the initial count 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 progressive president, Xiomara Castro, whose nominee came in third place. Asfura’s win was declared only by the first two councillors. The representative linked to the president’s party refused to recognise the result, alleged that an “stolen election” was taking place and filed a complaint with the attorney general, opening the possibility that the result will be challenged in the judiciary. In its statement, the council declared: “By the majority will of the people of Honduras, expressed sovereignly at the polls, the full council of the CNE proclaims Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah legitimate president of the Republic of Honduras for the four-year term beginning on 27 January 2026 and ending on 27 January 2030.” The declaration before the end of the review was the latest in a string of controversies that characterized the Central American country’s presidential race, beginning with what many saw as blatant meddling by the American head of state. Shortly prior to the vote, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, stated the US would back the next government only if he won, and criticized the other main contenders, calling them communists or allies of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro. On the eve of the election, the US president also announced a pardon for the former Honduran president and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for reportedly creating “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”. The US secretary of state, 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 congratulates the elected president Asfura and looks forward to collaborating with his government to promote prosperity and safety in our region.”