Honduran Contender Alleges Election Has Been 'Stolen'
The centrist candidate in Honduras's knife-edge presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has accused "corrupt people" of tampering with the vote count in the Central American nation.
Over a week after the election, the electoral council has yet to announce a winner, but the most recent tally suggest that Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the conservative candidate backed by US President Donald Trump, holds a narrow lead.
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 demanded the vote to be invalidated and accused Trump of the election.
Close Results and Growing Unrest
With the vast majority of votes counted, Asfura had 40.53% of the vote, ahead of Nasralla with under forty percent and Moncada with just under twenty percent, per the National Electoral Council's (CNE) update.
Patience has worn thin over the last week as the counting was repeatedly halted, sometimes for days on end.
Representatives of the CNE blamed "technical problems."
They have also warned that numerous voting records with "inconsistencies" still need to be reviewed.
Trump's Endorsement and Controversial Pardon
The period preceding the election was overshadowed by Trump's support for Nasry "Tito" Asfura.
Shortly before the vote, Trump backed the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, stating that "Tito and I can work together to fight the drug traffickers."
"Our support will be strong should Asfura win, but we will not be wasting resources, 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 HernĂĄndez, who stems from the same party as Asfura.
HernĂĄndez was serving a 45-year prison sentence in the US for conspiring to import cocaine.
His pardon and subsequent release has stunned Honduran authorities, who issued an international arrest warrant for HernĂĄndez, who remains in the US.
Rising Tensions and Claims of Meddling
Meanwhile, 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 pulled past 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 moved in 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 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 "bad actors" for "delaying the counting process."
Under Honduran law, the CNE has until 30 December to declare a winner.
