Trump-backed Asfura wins Honduras presidency after weeks of delays in disputed election

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras - Mr Nasry Asfura, the conservative National Party candidate backed by US President Donald Trump, has won Honduras’ presidential election, the electoral body said on Dec 24 as it finally declared a victor of the Nov 30 presidential election after weeks of delays, technical problems and allegations of fraud.

The electoral authority, known as the CNE, said Mr Asfura had won 40.3 per cent of the vote, edging out centre-right Liberal Party candidate Salvador Nasralla, who garnered 39.5 per cent. The candidate of the ruling Libre party, Ms Rixi Moncada, came a distant third.

Mr Asfura ran on a broad pro-business platform, saying private investment is necessary to move the country forward. His political agenda focused on jobs, education and security.

Mr Asfura has also signalled he may swop Honduras’ allegiance to Taiwan, and away from Beijing. 

The results were so tight and the ballot processing system so chaotic that around 15 per cent of the tally sheets comprising hundreds of thousands of ballots had to be counted by hand to determine the winner.

In the weeks following the vote, Libre repeatedly called for protests against what they denounced as an “electoral coup”. The protests interrupted the manual count, blocking officials from accessing the building where tally sheets were being stored. 

The results were approved by two electoral council members and one deputy, as disputes continued over the razor-thin vote. A third council member, Mr Marlon Ochoa, was not present in the video declaring the winner.

“Honduras: I am ready to govern. I will not let you down,” Mr Asfura said in a post on X following the confirmation of the results. 

But the head of the Honduran Congress rejected the results.

“This is completely outside the law. It has no value,” Congress President Luis Redondo of Libre wrote on X. 

Trump backs Asfura

Mr Trump threw his support behind Mr Asfura, a 67-year-old politician and businessman who is the former mayor of the capital Tegucigalpa, writing in a Truth Social post before the election that he was the “only real friend of Freedom in Honduras” and urging people to vote for him. 

Mr Trump also threatened to cut off US financial support to Honduras if Mr Asfura did not win and pardoned former president Juan Orlando Hernandez, also of Mr Asfura’s National Party, who had been serving a 45-year sentence in the US on drug trafficking and weapons charges.  

Amid delays in the count, Mr Trump weighed into the election again, alleging fraud without providing evidence and saying there would be “hell to pay” if Honduras changed preliminary results that had put Mr Asfura ahead.

Mr Trump’s backing of Mr Asfura, experts say, is part of his push to mould a conservative bloc across Latin America, stretching from Mr Nayib Bukele in El Salvador to Mr Javier Milei in Argentina.

Both Mr Nasralla and Libre have decried Mr Trump’s comments as election meddling. Mr Nasralla told Reuters in early December that the last-minute interference from Mr Trump had damaged his chances of winning.

“The United States congratulates President-elect Asfura and looks forward to working with his administration to advance prosperity and security in our hemisphere,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X following the results.

Mr Rubio urged all parties to accept the outcome in order to “ensure a peaceful transition”.

The Secretary-General of the Organisation of American States Albert Ramdin said the group “takes note” of the results and will issue a report with findings and recommendations in the coming days.

“The General-Secretariat is aware of the difficulties experienced during the electoral process, recognises the work carried out by Honduran institutions, and regrets that the full recount of the votes cast by citizens has not yet been completed,” Mr Ramdin said in a post on X.

'Papi, at your service'

Mr Asfura was born in Tegucigalpa on June 8, 1958, into a family of Palestinian descent. He studied civil engineering but did not complete his degree. In the 1990s, he worked in various city administrations gaining a reputation as an efficient but low-profile official, and was also a congressman and minister for social investment. 

In 2013, he became mayor of Tegucigalpa and the surrounding district and built his popularity on delivering infrastructure projects, earning the nickname “Papi, at your service” for his public works, which his team continued to use in the presidential campaign.

Despite projecting a modest and hardworking image, dressed in jeans and rolled-up sleeves, he is under investigation, along with other former officials from his administration in the capital, for allegedly being part of a scheme to embezzle public funds and launder money. Mr Asfura has said the actions against him are politically motivated and denies wrongdoing.

“Extremes don’t work,” he said during the campaign when asked if he represents the far-right. “We must seek a balance… People don’t care if you’re ugly or beautiful, left or right, green, red or blue; what they want are solutions.”

Mr Asfura is due to take office on Jan 27 for the 2026‑2030 term. REUTERS