Presidential Contender Claims Vote Has Been 'Stolen'
The moderate candidate in Honduras's knife-edge presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has alleged "unscrupulous individuals" of manipulating the vote count in the Central American nation.
Nine days after the election, the election authority has still not declared a winner, but the latest results suggest that Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the right-wing contender endorsed by US President Donald Trump, holds a slim advantage.
Nasralla, who had been ahead in the initial stages before falling to second place, declared on social media: "This is theft."
The left-wing candidate trailing in third, Rixi Moncada, has called for the vote to be invalidated and alleged US interference by Trump in the election.
Close Results and Growing Unrest
With the vast majority of votes counted, Asfura had 40.53% of the vote, leading Nasralla with under forty percent and Moncada with just under twenty percent, according to the election body's update.
Patience has worn thin over the last week as the counting was repeatedly halted, sometimes for extended periods.
Officials from the CNE blamed "system glitches."
They have also warned that numerous voting records with "inconsistencies" still need to be examined.
Trump's Backing and Controversial Pardon
The run-up to the election was dominated by Trump's support for Nasry "Tito" Asfura.
Just days before the vote, Trump threw his weight behind the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, saying that "We can work together to fight the Narcocommunists."
"We will be very supportive should Asfura win, but we will not be wasting resources, because a wrong Leader can only bring catastrophic results," Trump added.
In a surprise move two days before the election, Trump also pardoned jailed former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who stems from the same party as Asfura.
Hernández was in the midst of a 45-year prison sentence in the US for trafficking cocaine.
His clemency and freedom has stunned Honduran authorities, who issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who remains in the US.
Rising Tensions and Claims of Meddling
Meanwhile, tension has been rising as the lead in the vote count changed a number of times.
Trump claimed the CNE of "trying to change" the outcome when Nasralla pulled past Asfura early on.
"If they do, there will be hell to pay," the US president said without offering proof of any fraud.
Ever since the Trump-endorsed Asfura moved in the lead, it has been his two rivals alleging misconduct.
Rixi Moncada's Libre party called for the "the total annulment" of the elections.
It also urged its supporters to take to the streets against what it called "meddling and pressure of the President of the United States."
Nasralla blamed unnamed "bad actors" for "holding up the counting process."
Under Honduran law, the CNE has until 30 December to declare a winner.
