🔗 Share this article Honduran Contender Alleges Vote Has Been 'Rigged' The atmosphere has been tense as the lead changed hands several times. The moderate candidate in Honduras's knife-edge presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has accused "corrupt people" of manipulating the vote count in the Central American nation. 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 endorsed by US President Donald Trump, holds a narrow lead. Nasralla, who had been leading earlier on before dropping into second place, declared on social media: "This is a robbery." The progressive hopeful trailing in third, Rixi Moncada, has called for the vote to be annulled and accused Trump of the election. Narrow Results and Growing Frustration With the vast majority of votes counted, Asfura had just over forty percent 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 stalled several times, sometimes for extended periods. Officials from the CNE blamed "technical problems." They have also cautioned that numerous voting records with "irregularities" still need to be reviewed. Trump's Endorsement and Controversial Pardon The period preceding the election was overshadowed by Trump's endorsement of 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." "We will be very supportive 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 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 serving 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 remains in the US. Rising Tensions and Allegations of Interference Meanwhile, tension has been rising as the lead in the vote count changed a number of times. Trump claimed the CNE of "trying to change" the outcome when Nasralla pulled past Asfura early on. "If they do, there will be hell to pay," the US president said without offering proof 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 protest publicly against what it called "the interference and coercion 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.