Presidential Contender Alleges Vote Has Been 'Stolen'
The moderate candidate in Honduras's knife-edge presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has accused "corrupt people" of tampering with the vote count in the country.
Nine days after the election, the election authority has still not declared a winner, but the latest results suggest that Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the conservative candidate endorsed by US President Donald Trump, holds a slim advantage.
Nasralla, who had been leading earlier on before dropping into second place, declared on social media: "They have stolen it."
The progressive hopeful placed in third, Rixi Moncada, has called for the vote to be invalidated and alleged US interference by Trump in the election.
Close Results and Growing Unrest
With 98.77% of votes counted, Asfura had just over forty percent 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.
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 "IT issues."
They have also cautioned that numerous voting records with "discrepancies" still need to be reviewed.
Trump's Backing and Surprise Pardon
The period preceding the election was dominated by Trump's support for Nasry "Tito" Asfura.
Just days before the vote, Trump backed the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, stating 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 disastrous outcomes," Trump added.
In a surprise move 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 pardon and subsequent release has shocked Honduran authorities, who have issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who is still in the US.
Mounting Tensions and Claims of Meddling
At the same time, tension has been rising as the lead in the vote count fluctuated repeatedly.
Trump claimed the CNE of "seeking to alter" the outcome when Nasralla pulled past Asfura early on.
"They will face severe consequences," 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 "complete cancellation" 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 "bad actors" for "delaying the counting process."
According to the nation's regulations, the CNE has until 30 December to declare a winner.