Honduran Contender Claims Election Has Been 'Stolen'
The centrist candidate in Honduras's knife-edge presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has alleged "corrupt people" of manipulating the vote count in the country.
Over a week after the election, the election authority has still not declared a winner, but the most recent tally suggest that Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the right-wing contender endorsed by US President Donald Trump, holds a slim advantage.
Nasralla, who had been ahead in the initial stages before dropping into second place, declared on social media: "This is theft."
The progressive hopeful placed in third, Rixi Moncada, has called for the vote to be annulled and alleged US interference by Trump in the election.
Close Results and Growing Frustration
With 98.77% of votes counted, Asfura had just over forty percent of the vote, leading Nasralla with 39.16% and Moncada with 19.32%, per the National Electoral Council's (CNE) update.
Patience has worn thin over the last week as the counting stalled several times, sometimes for days on end.
Officials from the CNE attributed the delays to "IT issues."
They have also warned that numerous voting records with "irregularities" still need to be examined.
Trump's Backing and Surprise Pardon
The period preceding the election was dominated by Trump's support for Nasry "Tito" Asfura.
Shortly before the vote, Trump threw his weight behind the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, stating 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 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 clemency and freedom has shocked Honduran authorities, who have issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who remains in the US.
Mounting Tensions and Claims of Meddling
Meanwhile, tension has been rising as the lead in the vote count fluctuated repeatedly.
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.
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 "complete cancellation" of the elections.
It also urged its supporters to protest publicly against what it called "the interference and coercion of the President of the United States."
Nasralla blamed unnamed "bad actors" for "delaying the counting process."
According to the nation's regulations, the CNE has until 30 December to declare a winner.
