Trump ally Asfura clinches Honduras election in contested result

Nasry Asfura, the conservative National Party candidate backed by US President Donald Trump, has been declared the winner of Honduras’ presidential election, the country’s electoral authority said on December 24, weeks after the November 30 vote was marred by delays, technical failures, and allegations of fraud.

The National Electoral Council (CNE) said Asfura won 40.3% of the vote, narrowly defeating centre-right Liberal Party candidate Salvador Nasralla, who received 39.5%. Rixi Moncada of the ruling LIBRE party finished a distant third, per Reuters.

The razor-thin margin and widespread problems in the ballot-processing system forced authorities to manually count about 15% of tally sheets, covering hundreds of thousands of ballots.

The outcome was approved by two electoral council members and one deputy amid ongoing disputes. One council member, Marlon Ochoa, was absent from the announcement. LIBRE rejected the result, calling it an “electoral coup,” and protests by party supporters disrupted the manual recount. Congress President Luis Redondo said the declaration was illegal and had no validity.

Asfura welcomed the decision, saying he was ready to govern. He ran on a pro-business platform focused on jobs, education, and security, and has indicated he may reconsider Honduras’ diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favour of Beijing.

Trump publicly endorsed Asfura before and after the vote, alleging fraud without evidence and threatening consequences if preliminary results were changed. Both Nasralla and LIBRE accused Trump of election interference.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated Asfura and urged all sides to accept the results to ensure a peaceful transition. The Organisation of American States said it would issue a report, noting difficulties during the electoral process and that a full recount has not yet been completed.

Asfura, a former mayor of Tegucigalpa, is due to take office on January 27 for the 2026–2030 term.

By Tamilla Hasanova