Presidential Contender Alleges Election Has Been 'Stolen'
The centrist candidate in Honduras's tightly contested presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has accused "corrupt people" of manipulating the vote count in the Central American nation.
Over a week after the election, the election authority has still not declared 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 dropping into second place, stated on social media: "They have stolen it."
The progressive hopeful 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 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, 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 blamed "IT issues."
They have also cautioned that thousands of voting records with "inconsistencies" still need to be examined.
Trump's Endorsement and Surprise Pardon
The run-up to the election was overshadowed by Trump's endorsement of Nasry "Tito" Asfura.
Just days before the vote, Trump threw his weight behind the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, saying that "We can work together to fight the Narcocommunists."
"Our support will be strong should Asfura win, but we will not be throwing good money after bad, because a poor choice can only bring catastrophic results," Trump added.
In a unexpected action two days before the election, Trump also granted clemency to jailed former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who is 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 shocked Honduran authorities, who issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who is still in the US.
Rising Tensions and Allegations of Meddling
At the same time, the situation has grown more tense as the lead in the vote count fluctuated repeatedly.
Trump claimed the CNE of "trying to change" the outcome when Nasralla overtook 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 "the total annulment" of the elections.
It also called on 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 "delaying the counting process."
Under Honduran law, the CNE has until 30 December to announce a victor.
