🔗 Share this article Honduran Contender Alleges Election Has Been 'Stolen' Tensions have run high as the lead changed hands several times. The moderate candidate in Honduras's tightly contested presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has accused "unscrupulous individuals" of manipulating the vote count in the country. Over a week after the election, the electoral council has still not declared 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 ahead in the initial stages before falling to second place, stated on social media: "They have stolen it." The progressive hopeful placed in third, Rixi Moncada, has demanded the vote to be invalidated and accused Trump of the election. Narrow Results and Growing Frustration With the vast majority of votes counted, Asfura had just over forty percent of the vote, leading Nasralla with 39.16% and Moncada with 19.32%, according to the National Electoral Council's (CNE) update. Patience has worn thin over the last week as the counting stalled several times, sometimes for days on end. Officials from the CNE attributed the delays to "technical problems." They have also warned that thousands of voting records with "discrepancies" still need to be examined. Trump's Backing and Controversial Pardon The run-up to the election was dominated by Trump's support for Nasry "Tito" Asfura. Just days before the vote, Trump threw his weight behind the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, saying that "We can work together to fight the Narcocommunists." "Our support will be strong should Asfura win, but the United States 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 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 stunned Honduran authorities, who issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who remains in the US. Mounting Tensions and Claims of Interference Meanwhile, 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 pulled past 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 "the total annulment" 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 blamed unnamed "bad actors" for "delaying the counting process." Under Honduran law, the CNE has until 30 December to announce a victor.