Presidential Candidate Alleges Election 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 country.
Over a week after the election, the electoral council has yet to announce a winner, but the most recent tally suggest that Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the conservative candidate backed by US President Donald Trump, holds a slim advantage.
Nasralla, who had been ahead in the initial stages before dropping into second place, declared on social media: "They have stolen it."
The left-wing candidate placed in third, Rixi Moncada, has called for the vote to be invalidated and accused Trump of the election.
Close Results and Growing Unrest
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.
Patience has worn thin over the last week as the counting was repeatedly halted, sometimes for days on end.
Officials from the CNE attributed the delays to "system glitches."
They have also cautioned that numerous voting records with "inconsistencies" still need to be reviewed.
Trump's Endorsement and Controversial Pardon
The period preceding the election was dominated by Trump's endorsement of Nasry "Tito" Asfura.
Just days before the vote, Trump backed the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, stating that "We can work together to fight the drug traffickers."
"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 unexpected action two days before the election, Trump also granted clemency to jailed former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who stems 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 clemency and freedom has stunned Honduran authorities, who issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who remains in the US.
Rising Tensions and Claims of Interference
Meanwhile, the situation has grown more tense as the lead in the vote count fluctuated repeatedly.
Trump accused 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 offering proof 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 "complete cancellation" of the elections.
It also called on its supporters to take to the streets against what it called "meddling and pressure 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 declare a winner.
