Honduran Candidate Claims Election Has Been 'Stolen'
The moderate candidate in Honduras's tightly contested presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has accused "corrupt people" of tampering with 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 dropping into second place, declared on social media: "This is a robbery."
The progressive hopeful trailing in third, Rixi Moncada, has called for the vote to be annulled and alleged US interference by Trump in 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, according to 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 "irregularities" still need to be reviewed.
Trump's Backing and Surprise Pardon
The period preceding the election was overshadowed by Trump's support for Nasry "Tito" Asfura.
Just days before the vote, Trump backed the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, stating that "We can work together to fight the Narcocommunists."
"We will be very supportive should Asfura win, but the United States will not be wasting resources, because a poor choice 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 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 issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who is still in the US.
Mounting Tensions and Claims of Interference
At the same time, tension has been rising as the lead in the vote count fluctuated repeatedly.
Trump claimed 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 offering proof of any fraud.
Ever since the Trump-endorsed Asfura moved in 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 take to the streets against what it called "the interference and coercion 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.