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

Donald Trump-backed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura was announced as the victor of Honduras’s presidential election after a vote count that extended for nearly four weeks and was marred by claims of irregularities and accusations of meddling from the US president.

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 centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 votes.

The election authority proclaimed a winner prior to finishing the examination of all tally sheets under a “extraordinary review” launched last week to recount votes flagged as “irregular”. The move was criticised by defeated candidates and lamented by the Organization of American States, which deployed an monitoring team to the election held on 30 November.

Asfura has proclaimed himself as president-elect. “The nation, we now have the official declaration from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I acknowledge the great work carried out by the councillors and the entire team that ran the election. Honduras: I am prepared to lead. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he wrote.

Nasralla declined to accept defeat and published a series of statements claiming manipulation in the tallying procedure, including “tampering with official records”, claiming that “the figures from the original tally 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 candidate 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, claimed that an “stolen election” was under way and lodged a legal challenge with the attorney general, opening the possibility that the outcome will be contested in court.

In its statement, the council said: “By the sovereign choice of the Honduran people, expressed freely at the ballot box, the plenary session of the CNE proclaims Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah constitutional president of the Republic of Honduras for the four-year term beginning on 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”

The proclamation prior to the conclusion of the review was the latest in a string of controversies that marked the Central American country’s election campaign, beginning with what many saw as open interference by the American head of state.

Shortly prior to the election, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, said the US would back the next government only if he won, and criticized the other main contenders, calling them socialists or allies of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.

On the eve of the election, the American leader also announced a pardon for the former Honduran president and Asfura supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for allegedly creating “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”.

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on social media. “The people of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” said Rubio. “The United States congratulates president-elect Asfura and anticipates collaborating with his administration to advance economic growth and safety in our region.”