Presidential Candidate Claims Election Has Been 'Stolen'
The moderate candidate in Honduras's knife-edge presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has accused "unscrupulous individuals" of manipulating the vote count in the Central American nation.
Nine days after the election, the election authority has yet to announce a winner, but the latest results suggest that Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the right-wing contender endorsed by US President Donald Trump, holds a narrow lead.
Nasralla, who had been ahead in the initial stages before dropping into second place, declared on social media: "They have stolen it."
The progressive hopeful placed in third, Rixi Moncada, has called for the vote to be invalidated 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 19.32%, according to the election body's update.
Frustration has been growing over the last week as the counting stalled several times, sometimes for days on end.
Representatives of the CNE attributed the delays to "system glitches."
They have also warned that thousands of voting records with "irregularities" still need to be reviewed.
Trump's Backing and Controversial Pardon
The run-up to the election was overshadowed by Trump's endorsement of Nasry "Tito" Asfura.
Shortly before the vote, Trump threw his weight behind 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 poor choice can only bring catastrophic results," 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 in the midst of a 45-year prison sentence in the US for conspiring to import cocaine.
His clemency and freedom has stunned Honduran authorities, who have issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who remains in the US.
Rising Tensions and Allegations 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 "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.
Since the moment 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 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.
