Presidential Candidate Claims Election Has Been 'Stolen'
The centrist candidate in Honduras's tightly contested presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has alleged "corrupt people" 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 right-wing contender backed by US President Donald Trump, holds a narrow lead.
Nasralla, who had been ahead in the initial stages before dropping into second place, declared on social media: "This is theft."
The progressive hopeful placed in third, Rixi Moncada, has demanded the vote to be annulled and alleged US interference by Trump in the election.
Narrow Results and Growing Unrest
With 98.77% of votes counted, Asfura had 40.53% of the vote, ahead of Nasralla with under forty percent and Moncada with 19.32%, according to the National Electoral Council's (CNE) update.
Frustration has been growing over the last week as the counting was repeatedly halted, sometimes for extended periods.
Officials from the CNE blamed "technical problems."
They have also cautioned that thousands of voting records with "irregularities" still need to be examined.
Trump's Endorsement and Surprise Pardon
The run-up to the election was dominated by Trump's endorsement of Nasry "Tito" Asfura.
Just days before the vote, Trump backed the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, saying 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 throwing good money after bad, because a poor choice 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 in the midst of a 45-year prison sentence in the US for trafficking cocaine.
His clemency and freedom has stunned Honduran authorities, who have issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who remains in the US.
Mounting Tensions and Claims 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 "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.
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 urged its supporters to take to the streets against what it called "the interference and coercion 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 declare a winner.
