Presidential Candidate Claims Vote Has Been 'Stolen'
The moderate candidate in Honduras's tightly contested presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has accused "corrupt people" of tampering with the vote count in the Central American nation.
Nine days after the election, the electoral council has still not declared a winner, but the most recent tally suggest that Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the conservative candidate endorsed by US President Donald Trump, holds a slim advantage.
Nasralla, who had been ahead in the initial stages before falling to second place, declared on social media: "This is theft."
The progressive hopeful trailing in third, Rixi Moncada, has called for the vote to be annulled and accused Trump of the election.
Close Results and Growing Frustration
With 98.77% of votes counted, Asfura had just over forty percent of the vote, leading Nasralla with under forty percent and Moncada with 19.32%, per the election body's update.
Frustration has been growing over the last week as the counting stalled several times, sometimes for extended periods.
Representatives of the CNE attributed the delays to "IT issues."
They have also warned that thousands of voting records with "irregularities" still need to be reviewed.
Trump's Endorsement and Controversial Pardon
The period preceding the election was overshadowed by Trump's endorsement of Nasry "Tito" Asfura.
Shortly 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."
"Our support will be strong should Asfura win, but the United States will not be wasting resources, 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 pardon and subsequent release has stunned Honduran authorities, who have issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who remains in the US.
Mounting Tensions and Claims of Interference
Meanwhile, tension has been rising 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.
"They will face severe consequences," the US president said without providing evidence 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 "the total annulment" 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 blamed unnamed "corrupt ones" for "holding up the counting process."
Under Honduran law, the CNE has until 30 December to declare a winner.
