Honduras’ National Electoral Council (CNE) on Wednesday proclaimed conservative and President Donald Trump-backed candidate Nasry Asfura as the winner of the 2025 presidential election — ending a three-week uncertainty period over the extremely narrow race and controversially slow vote count process.
Asfura, a longtime conservative politician and former Mayor of Tegucigalpa, will take office as President on January 27 for a four-year term, succeeding outgoing socialist President Xiomara Castro.
Honduras held new presidential elections on November 30, a process marked both by an extremely narrow razor thin competition between Asfura and former vice president Salvador Nasralla of the Liberal Party and a subsequent slow vote count process marked with numerous “technical difficulties” that further delayed definitive results.
An LCD screen displays Honduras’ presidential candidate Nasry Asfura of the National Party, as supporters celebrate after the National Electoral Council (CNE) declares him the winner of the presidential election in Tegucigalpa on December 24, 2025. (Orlando SIERRA / AFP via Getty)
The extremely close race between Asfura and Nasralla prompted CNE to carry out a special review process on specific vote minutes flagged with inconsistencies — the process, however, was further delayed last week as a result of riots and protests from members of the ruling socialist party Libre, whose candidate, Rixi Moncada, ultimately came in a distant third place.
On Wednesday, over three weeks since the election, CNE released an official certification proclaiming Nasry Asfura as the winner after obtaining 40.27 percent of the votes, with Nasralla coming in second place with 39.53 percent. According to the results, there is only a 27,026 vote difference between both candidates.
“Honduras, we now have the official declaration from the CNE. I recognize the great work done by the councilors and the entire team that carried out the elections,” Asfura wrote on social media.
“Honduras: I am ready to govern. I will not let you down. God bless Honduras!” He continued.
Days before the November 30 election, President Donald Trump gave his endorsement to Asfura while criticizing Nasralla as a “borderline communist” and condemning Moncada over her public admiration of late Cuban communist dictator Fidel Castro.
“The people of Honduras have spoken: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ next president. The United States congratulates President-Elect Nasry Asfura and looks forward to working with his administration to advance prosperity and security in our hemisphere,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday.
The governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and the Dominican Republic congratulated Asfura through a joint statement announcing that they all look to working together on “issues that unite us as brother countries, particularly trade, security, migration, and strengthening democracy in the region.” Israel, Canada, and the European Union also congratulated the President-elect.
The Organization of American States (OAS) released a statement reiterating that although the vote count process was marred with “technical deficiencies,” its electoral observer mission found that they did not compromise the integrity of the election.
Outgoing President Xiomara Castro, whose party has accused President Trump of “interfering” with the election and has repeatedly called for the annulment of the results, said on Wednesday that her government with collaborate with the transition process and she will conclude her term on January 27.
“I reiterate that I will remain in office as President of the Republic, as mandated by the Constitution, until January 27, 2026, not a day more, not a day less,” she said.
Salvador Nasralla rejected the official results in remarks given to the Honduran channel HCH — and claimed, “Today I am a victim of corruption.”
“I speak to you as someone who believes in democracy, in the law, and above all in the dignity of each and every one of our votes. I do not accept the declaration issued today, December 24,” he said.
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