Presidential Contender Alleges Election Has Been 'Manipulated'
The moderate candidate in Honduras's knife-edge presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has alleged "corrupt people" of manipulating the vote count in the country.
Over a week after the election, the electoral council has yet to announce a winner, but the most recent tally 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 falling to second place, declared on social media: "They have stolen it."
The left-wing candidate trailing in third, Rixi Moncada, has demanded the vote to be annulled and accused Trump of the election.
Close 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 just under twenty percent, according to the election body's update.
Patience has worn thin over the last week as the counting stalled several times, sometimes for days on end.
Officials from the CNE attributed the delays to "system glitches."
They have also cautioned that thousands of voting records with "discrepancies" still need to be reviewed.
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 threw his weight behind the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, saying that "Tito and I 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 pardoned jailed former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who stems from the same party as Asfura.
Hernández was serving a 45-year prison sentence in the US for conspiring to import cocaine.
His clemency and freedom has shocked Honduran authorities, who have issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who remains in the US.
Rising Tensions and Claims of Meddling
Meanwhile, the situation has grown more tense as the lead in the vote count fluctuated repeatedly.
Trump accused 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 moved in the lead, it has been his two rivals crying foul.
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 "the interference and coercion of the President of the United States."
Nasralla pointed the finger at unnamed "corrupt ones" for "holding up the counting process."
Under Honduran law, the CNE has until 30 December to declare a winner.
