Presidential Candidate Claims Vote Has Been 'Stolen'
The moderate candidate in Honduras's tightly contested presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has alleged "unscrupulous individuals" of tampering with the vote count in the Central American nation.
Nine days after the election, the election authority has yet to announce a winner, but the latest results suggest that Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the conservative candidate backed by US President Donald Trump, holds a narrow lead.
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 placed 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 40.53% of the vote, ahead of Nasralla with under forty percent and Moncada with just under twenty percent, according to the National Electoral Council's (CNE) update.
Frustration has been growing over the last week as the counting was repeatedly halted, sometimes for extended periods.
Representatives of the CNE attributed the delays to "system glitches."
They have also cautioned that numerous voting records with "inconsistencies" still need to be examined.
Trump's Endorsement and Controversial Pardon
The run-up to the election was overshadowed by Trump's endorsement of 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."
"We will be very supportive should Asfura win, but we will not be throwing good money after bad, because a wrong Leader 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 is from the same party as Asfura.
Hernández was serving 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 Claims of Meddling
Meanwhile, the situation has grown more tense as the lead in the vote count fluctuated repeatedly.
Trump claimed the CNE of "seeking to alter" the outcome when Nasralla overtook Asfura early on.
"If they do, there will be hell to pay," the US president said without offering proof 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 protest publicly against what it called "meddling and pressure of the President of the United States."
Nasralla pointed the finger at unnamed "corrupt ones" for "delaying the counting process."
According to the nation's regulations, the CNE has until 30 December to announce a victor.
