🔗 Share this article Presidential Contender Claims Vote Has Been 'Rigged' The atmosphere has been tense as the lead changed hands several times. The moderate candidate in Honduras's knife-edge presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has accused "unscrupulous individuals" of manipulating the vote count in the Central American nation. Nine days after the election, the election authority has yet to announce a winner, but the most recent tally suggest that Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the conservative candidate backed 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 demanded the vote to be invalidated and accused Trump of the election. Close Results and Growing Frustration With 98.77% 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 National Electoral Council's (CNE) update. Patience has worn thin over the last week as the counting stalled several times, sometimes for extended periods. Officials from the CNE blamed "technical problems." They have also warned that thousands of voting records with "inconsistencies" still need to be examined. Trump's Backing and Surprise Pardon The period preceding the election was overshadowed 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 "We can work together to fight the Narcocommunists." "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 surprise move 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 pardon and subsequent release has stunned Honduran authorities, who have 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 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 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 take to the streets against what it called "meddling and pressure of the President of the United States." Nasralla blamed unnamed "corrupt ones" for "delaying the counting process." Under Honduran law, the CNE has until 30 December to declare a winner.