Honduran Candidate Alleges Election Has Been 'Stolen'
The moderate 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 most recent tally 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 dropping into second place, declared on social media: "This is theft."
The left-wing candidate trailing in third, Rixi Moncada, has demanded the vote to be invalidated and accused Trump of the election.
Narrow Results and Growing Frustration
With the vast majority of votes counted, Asfura had 40.53% of the vote, leading Nasralla with 39.16% 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 stalled several times, sometimes for days on end.
Officials from the CNE attributed the delays to "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 period preceding the election was overshadowed by Trump's support for Nasry "Tito" Asfura.
Shortly before the vote, Trump threw his weight behind 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 we 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 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 conspiring to import 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, the situation has grown more tense 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.
Since the moment 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 called on 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 "corrupt ones" for "holding up the counting process."
Under Honduran law, the CNE has until 30 December to declare a winner.
