Presidential Contender Alleges Election Has Been 'Stolen'
The moderate candidate in Honduras's knife-edge presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has alleged "corrupt people" of tampering with the vote count in the country.
Over a week 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 backed by US President Donald Trump, holds a slim advantage.
Nasralla, who had been ahead in the initial stages before dropping into second place, declared on social media: "This is a robbery."
The progressive hopeful trailing in third, Rixi Moncada, has called for the vote to be annulled and alleged US interference by Trump in the election.
Close Results and Growing Frustration
With the vast majority of votes counted, Asfura had just over forty percent of the vote, ahead of 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 was repeatedly halted, sometimes for extended periods.
Representatives of the CNE attributed the delays to "technical problems."
They have also cautioned that numerous voting records with "inconsistencies" still need to be examined.
Trump's Endorsement and Surprise Pardon
The period preceding the election was overshadowed by Trump's support for Nasry "Tito" Asfura.
Shortly before the vote, Trump threw his weight behind the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, saying 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 wrong Leader can only bring disastrous outcomes," 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 in the midst of a 45-year prison sentence in the US for conspiring to import cocaine.
His clemency and freedom has stunned Honduran authorities, who have issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who remains in the US.
Mounting Tensions and Allegations of Meddling
Meanwhile, tension has been rising as the lead in the vote count fluctuated repeatedly.
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 providing evidence 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 called on its supporters to protest publicly against what it called "the interference and coercion of the President of the United States."
Nasralla blamed unnamed "corrupt ones" for "delaying the counting process."
Under Honduran law, the CNE has until 30 December to declare a winner.