Presidential Contender Alleges Vote 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 electoral council 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 a robbery."
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 40.53% of the vote, ahead of Nasralla with under forty percent and Moncada with 19.32%, according to the election body's update.
Patience has worn thin over the last week as the counting was repeatedly halted, sometimes for days on end.
Officials from the CNE blamed "IT issues."
They have also warned that thousands of voting records with "inconsistencies" still need to be reviewed.
Trump's Backing and Controversial Pardon
The period preceding the election was overshadowed by Trump's endorsement of Nasry "Tito" Asfura.
Just days before the vote, Trump threw his weight behind the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, saying that "Tito and I can work together to fight the Narcocommunists."
"Our support will be strong should Asfura win, but the United States will not be throwing good money after bad, because a poor choice 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 is from the same party as Asfura.
Hernández was serving a 45-year prison sentence in the US for conspiring to import 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
At the same time, tension has been rising as the lead in the vote count fluctuated repeatedly.
Trump claimed 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 alleging misconduct.
Rixi Moncada's Libre party called for the "complete cancellation" 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 "bad actors" for "delaying the counting process."
According to the nation's regulations, the CNE has until 30 December to announce a victor.
