Honduran Candidate Alleges Election Has Been 'Manipulated'
The moderate 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 election authority has still not declared a winner, but the latest results suggest that Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the conservative candidate endorsed 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 left-wing candidate placed 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 just over forty percent of the vote, leading Nasralla with under forty percent and Moncada with just under twenty percent, according to the election body's update.
Patience has worn thin over the last week as the counting stalled several times, sometimes for extended periods.
Officials from the CNE attributed the delays to "system glitches."
They have also warned that numerous voting records with "irregularities" 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, stating that "We can work together to fight the Narcocommunists."
"Our support will be strong should Asfura win, but the United States will not be throwing good money after bad, because a poor choice can only bring disastrous outcomes," 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 conspiring to import cocaine.
His pardon and subsequent release has shocked Honduran authorities, who issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who is still 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 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 "complete cancellation" 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.
