🔗 Share this article Presidential Candidate Claims Election Has Been 'Stolen' 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 accused "unscrupulous individuals" of tampering with the vote count in the Central American nation. Over a week after the election, the election authority has yet to announce a winner, but the latest results suggest that Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the right-wing contender backed by US President Donald Trump, holds a narrow lead. Nasralla, who had been leading earlier on before falling to second place, stated on social media: "This is theft." The left-wing candidate placed in third, Rixi Moncada, has called for the vote to be invalidated 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 39.16% and Moncada with 19.32%, per the National Electoral Council's (CNE) update. Frustration has been growing over the last week as the counting stalled several times, sometimes for days on end. Officials from the CNE attributed the delays to "IT issues." They have also warned that numerous voting records with "irregularities" still need to be examined. Trump's Backing and Surprise Pardon The run-up to the election was dominated by Trump's support for Nasry "Tito" Asfura. Just days before the vote, Trump backed the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, saying that "We can work together to fight the Narcocommunists." "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 surprise move 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 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 Claims of Interference At the same time, tension has been rising as the lead in the vote count changed a number of times. 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. 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 urged its supporters to protest publicly against what it called "the interference and coercion of the President of the United States." Nasralla pointed the finger at unnamed "corrupt ones" for "holding up the counting process." Under Honduran law, the CNE has until 30 December to announce a victor.