Presidential Contender Claims Election Has Been 'Stolen'
The centrist candidate in Honduras's knife-edge presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has accused "corrupt people" of manipulating the vote count in the country.
Nine days after the election, the election authority has still not declared a winner, but the most recent tally 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 theft."
The progressive hopeful placed in third, Rixi Moncada, has demanded the vote to be annulled and alleged US interference by Trump in the election.
Close Results and Growing Frustration
With the vast majority of votes counted, Asfura had just over forty percent of the vote, leading Nasralla with under forty percent and Moncada with 19.32%, according to the election body's update.
Frustration has been growing over the last week as the counting stalled several times, sometimes for days on end.
Representatives of the CNE blamed "system glitches."
They have also warned that thousands of voting records with "inconsistencies" still need to be examined.
Trump's Backing and Surprise Pardon
The period preceding 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, stating that "Tito and I can work together to fight the drug traffickers."
"Our support will be strong should Asfura win, but the United States will not be throwing good money after bad, because a poor choice can only bring disastrous outcomes," Trump added.
In a unexpected action two days before the election, Trump also granted clemency to 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 conspiring to import cocaine.
His clemency and freedom has stunned Honduran authorities, who have issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who remains in the US.
Rising Tensions and Claims of Interference
Meanwhile, the situation has grown more tense as the lead in the vote count changed a number of times.
Trump accused the CNE of "trying to change" the outcome when Nasralla overtook 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 "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 "corrupt ones" for "holding up the counting process."
Under Honduran law, the CNE has until 30 December to announce a victor.
