🔗 Share this article Former US President-Endorsed Candidate Asfura Proclaimed New President of Honduras Former President Trump-endorsed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the victor of Honduras’s race for the presidency following a ballot tally that extended for nearly four weeks and was marred 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, against 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 votes. The election authority proclaimed a winner before completing the examination of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” initiated last week to recount votes flagged as “inconsistent”. The decision was decried by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the Organization of American States, which deployed an observation mission to the election held on 30 November. Asfura has already declared himself the elected president. “Honduras, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I recognise the great work carried out by the councillors and the whole staff that administered the election. My fellow citizens: I am prepared to lead. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he stated. Nasralla declined to accept defeat and posted a series of statements claiming manipulation in the counting process, including “tampering with official records”, asserting that “the data from the original tally sheets were altered”. The election board is composed of three councillors: 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 victory was declared only by the initial pair of councillors. The member associated with the president’s party rejected the outcome, claimed that an “stolen election” was under way and lodged a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office, raising the prospect that the outcome will be challenged in the judiciary. In its statement, the council declared: “By the sovereign choice of the people of Honduras, expressed freely at the polls, the plenary session of the CNE proclaims Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah legitimate president of the Republic of Honduras for the four-year term starting 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.” The proclamation before the end of the review was the latest in a string 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, said the US would back the next government only if he was victorious, and criticized the other leading candidates, calling them communists or associates of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro. On the eve of the election, the US president also granted clemency for the former Honduran president and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for allegedly 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 spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” stated Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to the elected president Asfura and looks forward to collaborating with his government to promote economic growth and safety in our region.”
Former President Trump-endorsed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the victor of Honduras’s race for the presidency following a ballot tally that extended for nearly four weeks and was marred 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, against 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 votes. The election authority proclaimed a winner before completing the examination of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” initiated last week to recount votes flagged as “inconsistent”. The decision was decried by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the Organization of American States, which deployed an observation mission to the election held on 30 November. Asfura has already declared himself the elected president. “Honduras, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I recognise the great work carried out by the councillors and the whole staff that administered the election. My fellow citizens: I am prepared to lead. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he stated. Nasralla declined to accept defeat and posted a series of statements claiming manipulation in the counting process, including “tampering with official records”, asserting that “the data from the original tally sheets were altered”. The election board is composed of three councillors: 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 victory was declared only by the initial pair of councillors. The member associated with the president’s party rejected the outcome, claimed that an “stolen election” was under way and lodged a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office, raising the prospect that the outcome will be challenged in the judiciary. In its statement, the council declared: “By the sovereign choice of the people of Honduras, expressed freely at the polls, the plenary session of the CNE proclaims Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah legitimate president of the Republic of Honduras for the four-year term starting 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.” The proclamation before the end of the review was the latest in a string 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, said the US would back the next government only if he was victorious, and criticized the other leading candidates, calling them communists or associates of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro. On the eve of the election, the US president also granted clemency for the former Honduran president and Asfura ally Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for allegedly 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 spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president,” stated Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to the elected president Asfura and looks forward to collaborating with his government to promote economic growth and safety in our region.”