"The National Electoral Council (CNE) on Wednesday declared National Party candidate Nasry Asfura the Constitutional President of Honduras for the 2026-2030 term, following a manual recount of thousands of tally sheets that showed inconsistencies. "Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah, [...] representing the National Party of Honduras, having counted 18,757 ballots, equivalent to 97.86% of the result ballots, has obtained 1,479,748 valid votes," announced CNE President Counselor Ana Paola Hall. According to the CNE, the margin between Asfura and the second candidate - Salvador Nasralla of the Liberal Party - is 0.74%. Hall noted that the declaration is based on 18,757 counted ballots, representing 97.86% of result sheets, giving Asfura 1,479,748 valid votes. "The declaration is mandatory. It is not discretionary, it is not negotiable," she stressed. "Reopening it would violate the principle of preclusion [and] turn the CNE into a political review body of the vote, which the law [...] emphatically forbids." The recount comes after preliminary results showed a 'technical tie' between Asfura and Nasralla, prompting widespread protests and claims of fraud and electoral interference. Following the announcement, the businessman described the CNE's work as 'great labour,' adding: "Honduras: I am ready to govern. I will not fail you." Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated Asfura on his victory and said that he looks forward to working with his administration to "promote prosperity and security in our hemisphere". US President Donald Trump publicly endorsed Nasry Asfura's candidacy and previously warned of potential sanctions if he did not win. "