🔗 Share this article Presidential Contender Alleges Vote Has Been 'Manipulated' Tensions have run high as the lead changed hands several times. The moderate candidate in Honduras's tightly contested presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has accused "unscrupulous individuals" of tampering with the vote count in the Central American nation. Nine days 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 slim advantage. Nasralla, who had been leading earlier on before dropping into second place, declared on social media: "This is a robbery." The left-wing candidate placed in third, Rixi Moncada, has called for the vote to be invalidated and alleged US interference by Trump in the election. Close Results and Growing Unrest With 98.77% of votes counted, Asfura had just over forty percent of the vote, leading Nasralla with 39.16% and Moncada with 19.32%, according to the election body's update. Patience has worn thin over the last week as the counting stalled several times, sometimes for days on end. Officials from the CNE blamed "system glitches." They have also cautioned that thousands of voting records with "irregularities" still need to be examined. Trump's Endorsement and Surprise Pardon The period preceding 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, stating that "We can work together to fight the Narcocommunists." "We will be very supportive should Asfura win, but the United States will not be wasting resources, 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 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 is still in the US. Rising Tensions and Allegations of Meddling At the same time, tension has been rising 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. "They will face severe consequences," the US president said without offering proof 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 protest publicly against what it called "meddling and pressure of the President of the United States." Nasralla pointed the finger at unnamed "bad actors" for "delaying the counting process." Under Honduran law, the CNE has until 30 December to announce a victor.