Presidential Candidate Alleges Vote Has Been 'Rigged'
The centrist candidate in Honduras's knife-edge presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has alleged "unscrupulous individuals" of manipulating the vote count in the Central American nation.
Over a week after the election, the electoral council has yet to announce a winner, but the latest results 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 dropping into second place, stated on social media: "They have stolen it."
The left-wing candidate trailing in third, Rixi Moncada, has demanded the vote to be invalidated and accused Trump of the election.
Narrow Results and Growing Unrest
With the vast majority of votes counted, Asfura had 40.53% of the vote, leading Nasralla with 39.16% and Moncada with just under twenty percent, according to the National Electoral Council's (CNE) update.
Patience has worn thin over the last week as the counting stalled several times, sometimes for days on end.
Representatives of the CNE blamed "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.
Shortly before the vote, Trump backed the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, saying that "Tito and I 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 poor choice can only bring catastrophic results," 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 serving a 45-year prison sentence in the US for conspiring to import cocaine.
His clemency and freedom has stunned Honduran authorities, who 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 changed a number of times.
Trump accused the CNE of "trying to change" 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 took 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 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 "bad actors" for "delaying the counting process."
Under Honduran law, the CNE has until 30 December to declare a winner.
