🔗 Share this article

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

Over a week after the election, the election authority has yet to announce a winner, but the most recent tally 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 falling to second place, stated on social media: "This is a robbery."

The left-wing candidate trailing in third, Rixi Moncada, has called for the vote to be annulled and alleged US interference by Trump in the election.

Narrow Results and Growing Unrest

With 98.77% of votes counted, Asfura had 40.53% of the vote, leading Nasralla with under forty percent and Moncada with 19.32%, per the election body's update.

Frustration has been growing over the last week as the counting was repeatedly halted, sometimes for days on end.

Officials from the CNE blamed "technical problems."

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

Trump's Endorsement and Surprise Pardon

The period preceding the election was dominated by Trump's endorsement of Nasry "Tito" Asfura.

Just days 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 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 pardoned 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 shocked Honduran authorities, who issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who is still in the US.

Rising Tensions and Allegations of Interference

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.

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 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."

Under Honduran law, the CNE has until 30 December to declare a winner.