🔗 Share this article Former US President-Endorsed Candidate Asfura Proclaimed Incoming President of the Central American Nation Former President Trump-endorsed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the victor of Honduras’s race for the presidency after a ballot tally that extended for almost a month and was clouded by fraud allegations and accusations of meddling from the American leader. The conservative Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and former mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, obtained 40.27% of the vote, compared to 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 ballots. The election authority proclaimed a winner before completing the examination of all tally sheets under a “extraordinary review” initiated last week to re-tally votes flagged as “inconsistent”. The decision 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 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 refused to concede and published a series of statements claiming manipulation in the counting process, including “forgery of public documents”, asserting that “the figures from the initial count sheets were changed”. The electoral council is made up 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 candidate finished third. Asfura’s win was declared only by the initial pair of councillors. The representative associated with the president’s party refused to recognise the outcome, claimed that an “electoral coup” was taking place and filed a legal challenge with the attorney general, raising the prospect that the outcome will be contested in the judiciary. In its announcement, the council said: “By the majority will of the Honduran people, expressed sovereignly at the polls, the plenary session of the CNE proclaims Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah constitutional president of the Republic of Honduras for the presidential term beginning on 27 January 2026 and ending on 27 January 2030.” The proclamation before the end of the recount was the most recent in a series of disputes that characterized the Central American country’s presidential race, beginning with what many saw as open interference by the US president. Shortly prior to the vote, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, said the US would back the next government only if he was victorious, and criticized the other leading candidates, calling them socialists or associates of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro. On the eve of the election, the US president also announced a pardon for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 45 years in prison for reportedly establishing “a major drug trafficking route 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,” said Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to president-elect Asfura and anticipates collaborating with his government to promote economic growth and safety in our hemisphere.”
Former President Trump-endorsed hopeful Nasry “Tito” Asfura was proclaimed the victor of Honduras’s race for the presidency after a ballot tally that extended for almost a month and was clouded by fraud allegations and accusations of meddling from the American leader. The conservative Asfura, 67, a building tycoon and former mayor of the capital city, Tegucigalpa, obtained 40.27% of the vote, compared to 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 ballots. The election authority proclaimed a winner before completing the examination of all tally sheets under a “extraordinary review” initiated last week to re-tally votes flagged as “inconsistent”. The decision 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 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 refused to concede and published a series of statements claiming manipulation in the counting process, including “forgery of public documents”, asserting that “the figures from the initial count sheets were changed”. The electoral council is made up 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 candidate finished third. Asfura’s win was declared only by the initial pair of councillors. The representative associated with the president’s party refused to recognise the outcome, claimed that an “electoral coup” was taking place and filed a legal challenge with the attorney general, raising the prospect that the outcome will be contested in the judiciary. In its announcement, the council said: “By the majority will of the Honduran people, expressed sovereignly at the polls, the plenary session of the CNE proclaims Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah constitutional president of the Republic of Honduras for the presidential term beginning on 27 January 2026 and ending on 27 January 2030.” The proclamation before the end of the recount was the most recent in a series of disputes that characterized the Central American country’s presidential race, beginning with what many saw as open interference by the US president. Shortly prior to the vote, Trump openly endorsed Asfura, said the US would back the next government only if he was victorious, and criticized the other leading candidates, calling them socialists or associates of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro. On the eve of the election, the US president also announced a pardon for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been given 45 years in prison for reportedly establishing “a major drug trafficking route 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,” said Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to president-elect Asfura and anticipates collaborating with his government to promote economic growth and safety in our hemisphere.”