🔗 Share this article Honduran Candidate Alleges Election Has Been 'Rigged' 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 "corrupt people" of tampering with the vote count in the country. Over a week 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 endorsed by US President Donald Trump, holds a slim advantage. Nasralla, who had been leading earlier on before falling to second place, declared on social media: "This is a robbery." The progressive hopeful trailing in third, Rixi Moncada, has demanded the vote to be annulled and accused Trump of the election. Narrow Results and Growing Frustration 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. Patience has worn thin over the last week as the counting was repeatedly halted, sometimes for days on end. Representatives of the CNE blamed "IT issues." They have also cautioned that numerous voting records with "inconsistencies" still need to be examined. Trump's Backing and Surprise Pardon The run-up to the election was overshadowed 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 wasting resources, because a poor choice can only bring disastrous outcomes," 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 serving a 45-year prison sentence in the US for trafficking cocaine. His clemency and freedom has stunned Honduran authorities, who issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who is still in the US. Mounting Tensions and Claims of Meddling Meanwhile, 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. "They will face severe consequences," the US president said without offering proof of any fraud. Since the moment 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 called on its supporters to protest publicly against what it called "meddling and pressure of the President of the United States." Nasralla blamed unnamed "corrupt ones" for "holding up the counting process." Under Honduran law, the CNE has until 30 December to announce a victor.