Presidential Candidate Alleges Vote Has Been 'Stolen'
The centrist candidate in Honduras's knife-edge presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has alleged "unscrupulous individuals" of manipulating the vote count in the country.
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 conservative candidate endorsed by US President Donald Trump, holds a slim advantage.
Nasralla, who had been ahead in the initial stages before dropping into second place, stated on social media: "This is a robbery."
The progressive hopeful placed 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, ahead of Nasralla with 39.16% and Moncada with just under twenty percent, per the National Electoral Council's (CNE) update.
Patience has worn thin 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 numerous voting records with "inconsistencies" still need to be reviewed.
Trump's Endorsement and Surprise Pardon
The run-up to the election was dominated 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."
"Our support will be strong should Asfura win, but we will not be wasting resources, because a wrong Leader 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 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.
Mounting Tensions and Allegations of Meddling
At the same time, 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 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 moved in 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 called on 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."
Under Honduran law, the CNE has until 30 December to announce a victor.
