🔗 Share this article Presidential Candidate Claims Vote Has Been 'Stolen' Tensions have run high as the lead changed hands several times. The moderate candidate in Honduras's knife-edge presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has accused "unscrupulous individuals" of manipulating the vote count in the Central American nation. Nine days after the election, the electoral council has yet to announce a winner, but the latest results suggest that Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the right-wing contender backed by US President Donald Trump, holds a narrow lead. Nasralla, who had been leading earlier on before falling to second place, stated on social media: "This is theft." The left-wing candidate placed in third, Rixi Moncada, has demanded the vote to be annulled 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, ahead of Nasralla with under forty percent and Moncada with 19.32%, according to the National Electoral Council's (CNE) update. Frustration has been growing over the last week as the counting stalled several times, sometimes for extended periods. Officials from the CNE attributed the delays to "technical problems." They have also cautioned that thousands of voting records with "irregularities" still need to be examined. Trump's Endorsement and Controversial Pardon The run-up to the election was dominated by Trump's support for Nasry "Tito" Asfura. Shortly before the vote, Trump threw his weight behind the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, stating that "Tito and I can work together to fight the Narcocommunists." "Our support will be strong should Asfura win, but we will not be throwing good money after bad, because a poor choice can only bring disastrous outcomes," Trump added. In a surprise move 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 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 Claims of Meddling Meanwhile, tension has been rising as the lead in the vote count changed a number of times. 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. 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 "the interference and coercion of the President of the United States." Nasralla pointed the finger at unnamed "corrupt ones" for "holding up the counting process." Under Honduran law, the CNE has until 30 December to announce a victor.