🔗 Share this article

The moderate candidate in Honduras's knife-edge presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has accused "corrupt people" of manipulating the vote count in the country.

Nine days after the election, the election authority has still not declared 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: "They have stolen it."

The progressive hopeful 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, ahead of Nasralla with under forty percent and Moncada with 19.32%, per 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 blamed "technical problems."

They have also warned that numerous voting records with "irregularities" still need to be reviewed.

Trump's Endorsement and Surprise Pardon

The run-up to the election was dominated by Trump's endorsement of Nasry "Tito" Asfura.

Shortly before the vote, Trump threw his weight behind the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, saying that "Tito and I can work together to fight the drug traffickers."

"We will be very supportive should Asfura win, but we will not be wasting resources, because a poor choice 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 in the midst of a 45-year prison sentence in the US for trafficking cocaine.

His pardon and subsequent release has stunned Honduran authorities, who issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who remains in the US.

Mounting Tensions and Claims of Meddling

Meanwhile, tension has been rising as the lead in the vote count changed a number of times.

Trump accused the CNE of "trying to change" the outcome when Nasralla overtook 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 "meddling and pressure of the President of the United States."

Nasralla blamed unnamed "bad actors" for "holding up the counting process."

Under Honduran law, the CNE has until 30 December to announce a victor.