Honduran Candidate Alleges Election Has Been 'Stolen'
The moderate candidate in Honduras's knife-edge presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has alleged "unscrupulous individuals" of manipulating the vote count in the country.
Over a week after the election, the election authority has yet to announce a winner, but the latest results suggest that Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the conservative candidate backed by US President Donald Trump, holds a narrow lead.
Nasralla, who had been leading earlier on before dropping into second place, stated on social media: "This is a robbery."
The progressive hopeful placed in third, Rixi Moncada, has demanded the vote to be annulled and accused Trump of the election.
Close Results and Growing Frustration
With 98.77% of votes counted, Asfura had just over forty percent of the vote, ahead of Nasralla with 39.16% and Moncada with 19.32%, according to the election body's update.
Patience has worn thin over the last week as the counting stalled several times, sometimes for days on end.
Officials from the CNE blamed "system glitches."
They have also warned that numerous voting records with "discrepancies" still need to be reviewed.
Trump's Backing and Surprise Pardon
The run-up to the election was dominated by Trump's support for Nasry "Tito" Asfura.
Shortly before the vote, Trump backed the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, stating that "We can work together to fight the Narcocommunists."
"We will be very supportive should Asfura win, but the United States will not be wasting resources, because a wrong Leader can only bring disastrous outcomes," 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 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.
Mounting Tensions and Allegations of Interference
At the same time, the situation has grown more tense as the lead in the vote count changed a number of times.
Trump accused the CNE of "seeking to alter" the outcome when Nasralla overtook Asfura early on.
"They will face severe consequences," the US president said without offering proof of any fraud.
Since the moment 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 urged its supporters to take to the streets against what it called "meddling and pressure of the President of the United States."
Nasralla blamed unnamed "bad actors" for "delaying the counting process."
Under Honduran law, the CNE has until 30 December to declare a winner.
