Presidential Candidate Claims Election Has Been 'Manipulated'
The centrist candidate in Honduras's tightly contested presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has accused "corrupt people" of tampering with the vote count in the Central American nation.
Over a week 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 backed by US President Donald Trump, holds a slim advantage.
Nasralla, who had been leading earlier on before dropping into second place, stated on social media: "This is theft."
The left-wing candidate placed in third, Rixi Moncada, has demanded the vote to be annulled and accused Trump of the election.
Close Results and Growing Frustration
With the vast majority of votes counted, Asfura had 40.53% of the vote, ahead of Nasralla with 39.16% and Moncada with just under twenty percent, according to the National Electoral Council's (CNE) update.
Patience has worn thin over the last week as the counting stalled several times, sometimes for extended periods.
Representatives of the CNE attributed the delays to "technical problems."
They have also warned that numerous voting records with "discrepancies" still need to be examined.
Trump's Backing and Controversial Pardon
The run-up to the election was overshadowed by Trump's endorsement of Nasry "Tito" Asfura.
Just days before the vote, Trump backed the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, saying that "Tito and I can work together to fight the drug traffickers."
"We will be very supportive should Asfura win, but we will not be wasting resources, because a wrong Leader can only bring catastrophic results," Trump added.
In a surprise move 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 conspiring to import cocaine.
His clemency and freedom has stunned Honduran authorities, who issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who remains 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 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 moved in 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 called on its supporters to take to the streets against what it called "the interference and coercion of the President of the United States."
Nasralla pointed the finger at unnamed "corrupt ones" for "delaying the counting process."
Under Honduran law, the CNE has until 30 December to announce a victor.
