Presidential Contender Alleges Vote 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 still not declared a winner, but the most recent tally suggest that Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the right-wing contender backed by US President Donald Trump, holds a slim advantage.
Nasralla, who had been ahead in the initial stages before falling to second place, stated on social media: "This is a robbery."
The progressive hopeful placed in third, Rixi Moncada, has called for the vote to be annulled and accused Trump of the election.
Narrow Results and Growing Unrest
With 98.77% of votes counted, Asfura had 40.53% of the vote, leading Nasralla with 39.16% and Moncada with just under twenty percent, per the election body's update.
Patience has worn thin over the last week as the counting stalled several times, sometimes for extended periods.
Officials from the CNE blamed "IT issues."
They have also warned that numerous voting records with "irregularities" 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, stating that "Tito and I can work together to fight the drug traffickers."
"Our support will be strong should Asfura win, but the United States will not be wasting resources, because a wrong Leader can only bring disastrous outcomes," Trump added.
In a surprise move two days before the election, Trump also granted clemency to jailed former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who stems from the same party as Asfura.
Hernández was serving a 45-year prison sentence in the US for trafficking cocaine.
His clemency and freedom has stunned Honduran authorities, who have issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who is still in the US.
Mounting Tensions and Claims of Meddling
Meanwhile, the situation has grown more tense as the lead in the vote count changed a number of times.
Trump claimed the CNE of "seeking to alter" the outcome when Nasralla overtook Asfura early on.
"They will face severe consequences," the US president said without providing evidence of any fraud.
Since the moment the Trump-endorsed Asfura took the lead, it has been his two rivals crying foul.
Rixi Moncada's Libre party called for the "complete cancellation" of the elections.
It also called on its supporters to protest publicly against what it called "meddling and pressure of the President of the United States."
Nasralla pointed the finger at unnamed "corrupt ones" for "holding up the counting process."
Under Honduran law, the CNE has until 30 December to announce a victor.
