Honduran Contender Claims Election Has Been 'Manipulated'

The moderate candidate in Honduras's knife-edge presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has alleged "corrupt people" of tampering with the vote count in the country.

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 conservative candidate backed by US President Donald Trump, holds a slim advantage.

Nasralla, who had been ahead in the initial stages before falling to second place, stated on social media: "They have stolen it."

The progressive hopeful placed in third, Rixi Moncada, has demanded the vote to be invalidated and accused Trump of the election.

Close Results and Growing Unrest

With the vast majority of votes counted, Asfura had just over forty percent of the vote, ahead of Nasralla with under forty percent and Moncada with 19.32%, according to the National Electoral Council's (CNE) update.

Patience has worn thin over the last week as the counting was repeatedly halted, sometimes for extended periods.

Representatives of the CNE blamed "system glitches."

They have also warned that thousands of voting records with "irregularities" still need to be reviewed.

Trump's Backing 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 "Tito and I can work together to fight the drug traffickers."

"Our support will be strong should Asfura win, but we will not be wasting resources, because a wrong Leader can only bring catastrophic results," Trump added.

In a unexpected action 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 in the midst of a 45-year prison sentence in the US for conspiring to import 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

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 pulled past 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 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 blamed unnamed "corrupt ones" for "holding up the counting process."

According to the nation's regulations, the CNE has until 30 December to announce a victor.