🔗 Share this article

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

Nine days after the election, the electoral council 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 slim advantage.

Nasralla, who had been ahead in the initial stages before dropping into second place, stated on social media: "This is theft."

The left-wing candidate placed in third, Rixi Moncada, has demanded the vote to be invalidated and accused Trump of the election.

Narrow Results and Growing Unrest

With 98.77% of votes counted, Asfura had 40.53% of the vote, leading Nasralla with 39.16% and Moncada with just under twenty percent, per the election body's update.

Patience has worn thin over the last week as the counting stalled several times, sometimes for extended periods.

Representatives of the CNE blamed "IT issues."

They have also warned that numerous voting records with "inconsistencies" still need to be reviewed.

Trump's Backing and Surprise Pardon

The run-up to the election was overshadowed 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 "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 catastrophic results," Trump added.

In a unexpected action two days before the election, Trump also granted clemency to 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 conspiring to import cocaine.

His clemency and freedom has shocked Honduran authorities, who issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who is still in the US.

Rising Tensions and Claims of Meddling

Meanwhile, the situation has grown more tense as the lead in the vote count changed a number of times.

Trump claimed the CNE of "trying to change" the outcome when Nasralla overtook 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 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 called on its supporters to take to the streets against what it called "meddling and pressure of the President of the United States."

Nasralla pointed the finger at unnamed "corrupt ones" for "holding up the counting process."

According to the nation's regulations, the CNE has until 30 December to announce a victor.