🔗 Share this article Presidential Candidate Alleges Vote Has Been 'Stolen' 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 tampering with the vote count in the Central American nation. Over a week after the election, the election authority has still not declared a winner, but the latest results suggest that Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the right-wing contender endorsed by US President Donald Trump, holds a narrow lead. Nasralla, who had been ahead in the initial stages before falling to second place, stated on social media: "They have stolen it." The progressive hopeful placed in third, Rixi Moncada, has demanded the vote to be annulled and alleged US interference by Trump in the election. Close Results and Growing Frustration With 98.77% of votes counted, Asfura had 40.53% of the vote, ahead of Nasralla with 39.16% and Moncada with 19.32%, per the election body's update. Patience has worn thin over the last week as the counting stalled several times, sometimes for days on end. Officials from the CNE blamed "IT issues." They have also cautioned that thousands of voting records with "inconsistencies" still need to be reviewed. Trump's Endorsement and Controversial Pardon The period preceding the election was dominated by Trump's support for Nasry "Tito" Asfura. Just days before the vote, Trump threw his weight behind the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, saying that "Tito and I can work together to fight the Narcocommunists." "Our support will be strong should Asfura win, but the United States will not be throwing good money after bad, because a wrong Leader can only bring disastrous outcomes," Trump added. In a unexpected action 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 serving a 45-year prison sentence in the US for trafficking cocaine. His pardon and subsequent release has shocked Honduran authorities, who issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who is still in the US. Rising Tensions and Allegations of Interference At the same time, tension has been rising as the lead in the vote count changed a number of times. Trump accused 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 offering proof of any fraud. Ever since the Trump-endorsed Asfura moved in 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 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 "bad actors" for "holding up the counting process." According to the nation's regulations, the CNE has until 30 December to announce a victor.