🔗 Share this article

The moderate candidate in Honduras's knife-edge presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has alleged "unscrupulous individuals" of manipulating the vote count in the Central American nation.

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 conservative candidate backed by US President Donald Trump, holds a slim advantage.

Nasralla, who had been leading earlier on 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 accused Trump of the election.

Narrow Results and Growing Frustration

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 19.32%, according to the election body's update.

Frustration has been growing over the last week as the counting stalled several times, sometimes for extended periods.

Officials from the CNE attributed the delays to "technical problems."

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

Trump's Backing and Surprise Pardon

The period preceding the election was overshadowed by Trump's support for 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 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 serving a 45-year prison sentence in the US for trafficking cocaine.

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

Rising Tensions and Allegations of Interference

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 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 "the total annulment" of the elections.

It also urged its supporters to take to the streets against what it called "meddling and pressure of the President of the United States."

Nasralla blamed unnamed "bad actors" for "holding up the counting process."

Under Honduran law, the CNE has until 30 December to declare a winner.