Honduran Candidate Alleges Election Has Been 'Manipulated'
The moderate candidate in Honduras's tightly contested presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has alleged "corrupt people" of manipulating the vote count in the Central American nation.
Nine days after the election, the electoral council 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, stated on social media: "This is theft."
The progressive hopeful placed in third, Rixi Moncada, has called for the vote to be invalidated and alleged US interference by Trump in the election.
Narrow Results and Growing Frustration
With 98.77% of votes counted, Asfura had 40.53% of the vote, ahead of 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.
Representatives of the CNE blamed "technical problems."
They have also cautioned that thousands of voting records with "discrepancies" still need to be examined.
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."
"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 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 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 shocked Honduran authorities, who have issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who is still in the US.
Mounting Tensions and Allegations of Meddling
At the same time, tension has been rising 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 providing evidence 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 urged its supporters to protest publicly against what it called "the interference and coercion 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 declare a winner.
