Presidential Candidate Claims Election Has Been 'Manipulated'
The moderate 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.
Nine days after the election, the election authority has still not declared a winner, but the latest results 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, declared 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.
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 just under twenty percent, 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 cautioned that numerous voting records with "discrepancies" still need to be reviewed.
Trump's Endorsement and Controversial Pardon
The run-up to the election was overshadowed by Trump's support for Nasry "Tito" Asfura.
Shortly 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 the United States will not be wasting resources, because a poor choice can only bring catastrophic results," Trump added.
In a unexpected action two days before the election, Trump also pardoned 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 trafficking 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
At the same time, the situation has grown more tense as the lead in the vote count fluctuated repeatedly.
Trump claimed the CNE of "seeking to alter" the outcome when Nasralla pulled past 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 crying foul.
Rixi Moncada's Libre party called for the "complete cancellation" 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 "bad actors" for "delaying the counting process."
According to the nation's regulations, the CNE has until 30 December to announce a victor.
