Presidential Candidate Alleges Election Has Been 'Stolen'

The centrist candidate in Honduras's tightly contested presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has alleged "corrupt people" of manipulating the vote count in the Central American nation.

Nine days after the election, the electoral council has yet to announce a winner, but the most recent tally suggest that Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the right-wing contender endorsed by US President Donald Trump, holds a slim advantage.

Nasralla, who had been leading earlier on before dropping into second place, declared on social media: "This is theft."

The left-wing candidate placed in third, Rixi Moncada, has demanded the vote to be invalidated and accused Trump of the election.

Close Results and Growing Frustration

With 98.77% of votes counted, Asfura had just over forty percent of the vote, leading Nasralla with under forty percent and Moncada with just under twenty percent, per the election body's update.

Patience has worn thin over the last week as the counting was repeatedly halted, sometimes for days on end.

Representatives of the CNE blamed "system glitches."

They have also warned that numerous voting records with "inconsistencies" still need to be examined.

Trump's Backing and Surprise Pardon

The run-up to the election was dominated by Trump's endorsement of Nasry "Tito" Asfura.

Just days before the vote, Trump backed the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, stating that "We can work together to fight the drug traffickers."

"Our support will be strong should Asfura win, but we will not be throwing good money after bad, because a wrong Leader can only bring catastrophic results," Trump added.

In a unexpected action two days before the election, Trump also granted clemency to jailed former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who is from the same party as Asfura.

Hernández was in the midst of a 45-year prison sentence in the US for trafficking cocaine.

His pardon and subsequent release has stunned Honduran authorities, who issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who remains in the US.

Rising Tensions and Allegations of Interference

At the same time, the situation has grown more tense as the lead in the vote count fluctuated repeatedly.

Trump accused the CNE of "seeking to alter" the outcome when Nasralla pulled past Asfura early on.

"If they do, there will be hell to pay," the US president said without providing evidence of any fraud.

Ever since the Trump-endorsed Asfura took the lead, it has been his two rivals crying foul.

Rixi Moncada's Libre party called for the "the total annulment" of the elections.

It also urged its supporters to protest publicly against what it called "the interference and coercion of the President of the United States."

Nasralla blamed unnamed "bad actors" for "delaying the counting process."

According to the nation's regulations, the CNE has until 30 December to announce a victor.