🔗 Share this article Honduran Contender Claims Vote Has Been 'Manipulated' Tensions have run high as the lead changed hands several times. The moderate candidate in Honduras's tightly contested presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has alleged "unscrupulous individuals" of tampering with the vote count in the country. 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 endorsed by US President Donald Trump, holds a narrow lead. Nasralla, who had been ahead in the initial stages before falling to 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 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 just under twenty percent, according to the National Electoral Council's (CNE) update. Patience has worn thin over the last week as the counting stalled several times, sometimes for extended periods. Representatives of the CNE attributed the delays to "IT issues." They have also cautioned that numerous voting records with "inconsistencies" still need to be examined. 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 backed the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, saying 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 in the midst of a 45-year prison sentence in the US for trafficking cocaine. His clemency and freedom has shocked Honduran authorities, who issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who remains in the US. Mounting Tensions and Allegations of Interference Meanwhile, tension has been rising 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. "If they do, there will be hell to pay," 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 alleging misconduct. Rixi Moncada's Libre party called for the "the total annulment" 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 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 declare a winner.