🔗 Share this article Honduran Candidate Alleges Vote Has Been 'Rigged' Tensions have run high as the lead changed hands several times. The centrist candidate in Honduras's knife-edge presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has accused "unscrupulous individuals" of manipulating the vote count in the country. Over a week after the election, the electoral council has yet to announce a winner, but the most recent tally suggest that Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the right-wing contender backed by US President Donald Trump, holds a narrow lead. Nasralla, who had been ahead in the initial stages before dropping into second place, declared on social media: "This is theft." The left-wing candidate placed in third, Rixi Moncada, has demanded the vote to be invalidated and alleged US interference by Trump in the election. Narrow 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 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 attributed the delays to "system glitches." They have also cautioned that thousands of voting records with "discrepancies" still need to be reviewed. Trump's Endorsement and Controversial Pardon The run-up to the election was overshadowed by Trump's endorsement of Nasry "Tito" Asfura. Shortly before the vote, Trump backed 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 we will not be wasting resources, because a poor choice can only bring catastrophic results," Trump added. In a unexpected action 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 serving a 45-year prison sentence in the US for trafficking cocaine. His pardon and subsequent release has stunned Honduran authorities, who issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who is still in the US. Mounting Tensions and Allegations of Meddling Meanwhile, the situation has grown more tense as the lead in the vote count changed a number of times. Trump claimed the CNE of "trying to change" 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. 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 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 "delaying the counting process." According to the nation's regulations, the CNE has until 30 December to announce a victor.