Presidential Candidate Claims Vote Has Been 'Stolen'

The centrist candidate in Honduras's knife-edge presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has alleged "unscrupulous individuals" of tampering with the vote count in the Central American nation.

Over a week after the election, the electoral council has still not declared a winner, but the most recent tally suggest that Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the right-wing contender backed by US President Donald Trump, holds a slim advantage.

Nasralla, who had been leading earlier on before falling to second place, stated on social media: "This is a robbery."

The left-wing candidate placed in third, Rixi Moncada, has called for the vote to be annulled and accused Trump of the election.

Narrow Results and Growing Unrest

With 98.77% of votes counted, Asfura had 40.53% of the vote, ahead of 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 extended periods.

Officials from the CNE blamed "technical problems."

They have also warned that thousands of voting records with "discrepancies" still need to be examined.

Trump's Endorsement and Surprise Pardon

The period preceding the election was dominated by Trump's endorsement of Nasry "Tito" Asfura.

Just days before the vote, Trump threw his weight behind the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, saying that "We 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 wrong Leader can only bring catastrophic results," Trump added.

In a surprise move two days before the election, Trump also granted clemency to 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 conspiring to import cocaine.

His clemency and freedom has shocked Honduran authorities, who have issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who is still in the US.

Mounting Tensions and Claims of Interference

Meanwhile, tension has been rising 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.

"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 urged 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 "holding up the counting process."

Under Honduran law, the CNE has until 30 December to announce a victor.