Former US President-Endorsed Contender Asfura Proclaimed Incoming President of the Central American Nation

Donald Trump-backed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the winner of Honduras’s presidential election after a vote count that dragged on for nearly four weeks and was marred by fraud allegations and criticism of meddling from the US president.

The conservative Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and former mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, obtained 40.27% of the vote, compared to 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 votes.

The election authority proclaimed a winner before completing the review of all tally sheets under a “special scrutiny” launched last week to re-tally votes marked as “inconsistent”. The move was criticised by defeated candidates and deplored by the OAS, which sent an observation mission to the election held on 30 November.

Asfura has proclaimed himself as the elected president. “The nation, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [electoral council]. I acknowledge the great work carried out by the councillors and the whole staff that administered the election. My fellow citizens: I am ready to govern. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.

Nasralla refused to concede and posted a series of statements claiming manipulation in the counting process, including “tampering with official records”, asserting that “the data 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 leftist president, Xiomara Castro, whose candidate finished third. Asfura’s win was declared only by the first two councillors.

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

In its announcement, the council said: “By the majority will of the Honduran people, 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 presidential term beginning on 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”

The proclamation prior to the conclusion of the recount was the latest in a string of disputes that characterized the Central American country’s election campaign, beginning with what many saw as blatant meddling by the US president.

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

On the eve of the election, the American leader also announced a pardon for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for reportedly establishing “a major drug trafficking route to the United States”.

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, offered congratulations to 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 collaborating with his administration to advance economic growth and security in our region.”