🔗 Share this article

The centrist candidate in Honduras's tightly contested presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has accused "corrupt people" of manipulating the vote count in the Central American nation.

Nine days after the election, the election authority has still not declared a winner, but the most recent tally suggest that Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the right-wing contender endorsed by US President Donald Trump, holds a slim advantage.

Nasralla, who had been leading earlier on before dropping into second place, declared on social media: "They have stolen it."

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.

Narrow Results and Growing Frustration

With 98.77% of votes counted, Asfura had 40.53% of the vote, ahead of Nasralla with under forty percent and Moncada with just under twenty percent, according to the election body's update.

Frustration has been growing 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 "discrepancies" still need to be examined.

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 backed the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, stating 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 catastrophic results," Trump added.

In a surprise move 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 shocked Honduran authorities, who have issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who is still in the US.

Mounting Tensions and Claims of Meddling

Meanwhile, tension has been rising as the lead in the vote count changed a number of times.

Trump claimed the CNE of "seeking to alter" the outcome when Nasralla overtook 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 crying foul.

Rixi Moncada's Libre party called for the "complete cancellation" of the elections.

It also urged its supporters to protest publicly against what it called "the interference and coercion of the President of the United States."

Nasralla pointed the finger at unnamed "bad actors" for "delaying the counting process."

According to the nation's regulations, the CNE has until 30 December to declare a winner.