Presidential Contender Alleges Election 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 country.
Over a week after the election, the election authority 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 leading earlier on before falling to second place, stated on social media: "This is a robbery."
The left-wing candidate trailing in third, Rixi Moncada, has demanded 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, leading Nasralla with 39.16% and Moncada with 19.32%, per the National Electoral Council's (CNE) update.
Frustration has been growing over the last week as the counting was repeatedly halted, sometimes for days on end.
Officials from the CNE attributed the delays to "IT issues."
They have also cautioned that thousands of voting records with "discrepancies" still need to be examined.
Trump's Endorsement and Controversial Pardon
The run-up to the election was dominated by Trump's support for Nasry "Tito" Asfura.
Shortly before the vote, Trump backed the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, saying that "Tito and I can work together to fight the Narcocommunists."
"We will be very supportive should Asfura win, but we will not be throwing good money after bad, because a wrong Leader 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 stems from the same party as Asfura.
Hernández was in the midst of a 45-year prison sentence in the US for trafficking cocaine.
His pardon and subsequent release has stunned Honduran authorities, who have issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who remains in the US.
Mounting Tensions and Claims of Interference
Meanwhile, tension has been rising as the lead in the vote count fluctuated repeatedly.
Trump claimed 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.
Since the moment the Trump-endorsed Asfura took 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 take to the streets against what it called "meddling and pressure of the President of the United States."
Nasralla pointed the finger at unnamed "corrupt ones" for "delaying the counting process."
Under Honduran law, the CNE has until 30 December to declare a winner.
