🔗 Share this article Honduran Candidate Alleges Election Has Been 'Rigged' Tensions have run high as the lead changed hands several times. The moderate candidate in Honduras's knife-edge presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has accused "unscrupulous individuals" of manipulating the vote count in the country. Nine days after the election, the election authority has yet to announce a winner, but the most recent tally suggest that Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the conservative candidate endorsed by US President Donald Trump, holds a narrow lead. Nasralla, who had been leading earlier on before falling to second place, declared on social media: "They have stolen it." The progressive hopeful trailing in third, Rixi Moncada, has called for the vote to be invalidated and alleged US interference by Trump in the election. Close Results and Growing Unrest 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%, 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 attributed the delays to "system glitches." They have also cautioned that numerous voting records with "discrepancies" still need to be reviewed. Trump's Backing and Controversial Pardon The period preceding the election was overshadowed by Trump's endorsement of Nasry "Tito" Asfura. Just days before the vote, Trump threw his weight behind the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, stating that "We can work together to fight the drug traffickers." "We will be very supportive should Asfura win, but we 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 pardoned 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 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 Claims of Meddling Meanwhile, the situation has grown more tense as the lead in the vote count changed a number of times. Trump accused the CNE of "seeking to alter" the outcome when Nasralla overtook Asfura early on. "They will face severe consequences," 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 "complete cancellation" of the elections. It also called on its supporters to take to the streets against what it called "the interference and coercion of the President of the United States." Nasralla pointed the finger at unnamed "corrupt ones" for "delaying the counting process." According to the nation's regulations, the CNE has until 30 December to announce a victor.