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 country.
Nine days after the election, the electoral council has yet to announce a winner, but the most recent tally suggest that Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the conservative candidate endorsed by US President Donald Trump, holds a narrow lead.
Nasralla, who had been ahead in the initial stages before falling to second place, stated on social media: "They have stolen it."
The left-wing candidate placed 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%, according to the election body's update.
Frustration has been growing over the last week as the counting stalled several times, sometimes for extended periods.
Representatives of the CNE blamed "system glitches."
They have also warned that numerous voting records with "discrepancies" still need to be examined.
Trump's Backing and Controversial Pardon
The period preceding the election was dominated by Trump's endorsement of Nasry "Tito" Asfura.
Shortly 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 wrong Leader can only bring disastrous outcomes," Trump added.
In a unexpected action 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 pardon and subsequent release has shocked Honduran authorities, who issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who is still in the US.
Rising Tensions and Allegations of Meddling
At the same time, tension has been rising 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.
"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 "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 blamed unnamed "corrupt ones" for "holding up the counting process."
Under Honduran law, the CNE has until 30 December to declare a winner.
