🔗 Share this article Presidential Candidate Claims Election Has Been 'Manipulated' 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 alleged "corrupt people" of tampering with the vote count in the Central American nation. Over a week after the election, the electoral council has still not declared a winner, but the latest results suggest that Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the conservative candidate endorsed by US President Donald Trump, holds a narrow lead. Nasralla, who had been ahead in the initial stages before dropping into second place, stated on social media: "They have stolen it." The left-wing candidate placed in third, Rixi Moncada, has called for the vote to be annulled and alleged US interference by Trump in the election. Narrow Results and Growing Unrest With the vast majority of votes counted, Asfura had just over forty percent of the vote, leading Nasralla with under forty percent and Moncada with just under twenty percent, per the election body's update. Frustration has been growing over the last week as the counting was repeatedly halted, sometimes for days on end. Officials from the CNE attributed the delays to "IT issues." They have also cautioned that numerous voting records with "discrepancies" still need to be examined. Trump's Backing and Controversial Pardon The period preceding the election was overshadowed by Trump's support for Nasry "Tito" Asfura. Shortly before the vote, Trump backed the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, stating that "We can work together to fight the drug traffickers." "Our support will be strong 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 is from the same party as Asfura. Hernández was serving a 45-year prison sentence in the US for conspiring to import cocaine. His pardon and subsequent release has shocked Honduran authorities, who have issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who is still in the US. Mounting Tensions and Claims of Interference Meanwhile, tension has been rising as the lead in the vote count changed a number of times. 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 "complete cancellation" of the elections. It also urged its supporters to take to the streets against what it called "the interference and coercion of the President of the United States." Nasralla pointed the finger at unnamed "bad actors" for "holding up the counting process." According to the nation's regulations, the CNE has until 30 December to announce a victor.