Presidential Contender Alleges Vote Has Been 'Stolen'
The moderate candidate in Honduras's tightly contested presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has accused "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 conservative candidate backed by US President Donald Trump, holds a slim advantage.
Nasralla, who had been ahead in the initial stages before dropping into second place, stated on social media: "This is a robbery."
The progressive hopeful trailing in third, Rixi Moncada, has demanded 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, ahead of Nasralla with under forty percent and Moncada with 19.32%, per the election body's update.
Frustration has been growing over the last week as the counting was repeatedly halted, sometimes for days on end.
Representatives of the CNE attributed the delays to "system glitches."
They have also cautioned that numerous voting records with "discrepancies" still need to be examined.
Trump's Endorsement and Surprise Pardon
The run-up to the election was overshadowed 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 drug traffickers."
"We will be very supportive should Asfura win, but the United States will not be throwing good money after bad, because a wrong Leader can only bring disastrous outcomes," Trump added.
In a unexpected action 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 is still in the US.
Rising Tensions and Allegations of Interference
Meanwhile, tension has been rising as the lead in the vote count changed a number of times.
Trump accused 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 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 take to the streets against what it called "meddling and pressure of the President of the United States."
Nasralla pointed the finger at unnamed "bad actors" for "holding up the counting process."
According to the nation's regulations, the CNE has until 30 December to declare a winner.
