Trump-backed Asfura declared winner of Honduras presidency

AFP

Tegucigalpa: Nasry Asfura, a conservative businessman backed by US President Donald Trump, was declared winner of the Honduran presidential vote on Wednesday, weeks after a razor-thin election marred by delays and allegations of fraud.

Asfura, a 67-year-old son of Palestinian immigrants, defeated fellow conservative and television personality Salvador Nasralla, who had demanded a full recount citing alleged irregularities.

The plenary session of the National Electoral Council (CNE) “declares Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah elected for a four-year term,” council president Ana Paola Hall said.

“Honduras: I’m ready to govern, I won’t let you down,” Asfura posted on X after the win was declared, thanking election officials for validating his victory.

According to official results, Asfura secured 40.1 percent of the vote, narrowly beating Nasralla, who received 39.5 percent. Rixi Moncada, a lawyer from the leftist Libre Party that currently governs Honduras, finished third with 19.2 percent.

Within minutes of the declaration, the United States welcomed Asfura’s election, saying it would help curb illegal immigration.

“We look forward to working with his incoming administration to advance our bilateral and regional security cooperation, end illegal immigration to the United States, and strengthen the economic ties between our two countries,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.

Following the lengthy vote-counting process, Rubio urged all parties to “respect the confirmed results so that Honduran authorities may swiftly ensure a peaceful transition of authority.”

Asfura’s new term will begin on January 27.

Tensions

The result was announced more than three weeks after the November 30 vote, a delay that heightened tensions across the Central American nation. The prolonged count was accompanied by claims of irregularities and voter fraud.

Nearly 2,800 tally sheets with suspected inconsistencies were recounted by hundreds of electoral staff and political delegates to determine the final outcome. The CNE had until December 30 to officially declare a winner.

Last week, thousands of supporters of the leftist Libre Party of outgoing President Xiomara Castro demonstrated in Tegucigalpa, protesting what they described as “fraud” in the election.

On the eve of the vote, Trump in a surprise move pardoned former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, a senior figure in Asfura’s party, who had been serving a 45-year prison sentence in the United States for drug trafficking.

Extradited from Honduras, Hernández has maintained that he was framed by the administration of former US president Joe Biden because of his conservative policies. The pardon was widely seen as contradicting Trump’s tough stance against alleged drug traffickers in Latin America.

Trump had also publicly endorsed Asfura, saying they could “work together to fight the narcocommunists,” and warned that “there will be hell to pay” if the conservative candidate’s narrow lead was overturned during the count.