Presidential Contender Claims Vote Has Been 'Stolen'
The moderate candidate in Honduras's knife-edge presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has accused "corrupt people" of manipulating the vote count in the country.
Nine days after the election, the electoral council has still not declared a winner, but the latest results suggest that Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the conservative candidate endorsed by US President Donald Trump, holds a slim advantage.
Nasralla, who had been leading earlier on before falling to second place, stated 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.
Narrow Results and Growing Unrest
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 National Electoral Council's (CNE) update.
Patience has worn thin over the last week as the counting was repeatedly halted, sometimes for extended periods.
Officials from the CNE attributed the delays to "IT issues."
They have also cautioned that numerous voting records with "irregularities" still need to be examined.
Trump's Endorsement and Controversial Pardon
The period preceding the election was dominated by Trump's endorsement of Nasry "Tito" Asfura.
Just days before the vote, Trump backed the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, saying that "We can work together to fight the Narcocommunists."
"We will be very supportive should Asfura win, but the United States will not be throwing good money after bad, because a poor choice can only bring catastrophic results," Trump added.
In a unexpected action two days before the election, Trump also pardoned 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 clemency and freedom has shocked Honduran authorities, who issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who remains in the US.
Mounting Tensions and Allegations 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 overtook Asfura early on.
"If they do, there will be hell to pay," the US president said without offering proof 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 "the total annulment" of the elections.
It also urged 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 "delaying the counting process."
According to the nation's regulations, the CNE has until 30 December to announce a victor.
