Presidential Candidate Claims Election Has Been 'Rigged'
The moderate 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 still not declared a winner, but the latest results 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 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 annulled and accused Trump of the election.
Close Results and Growing Frustration
With the vast majority of votes counted, Asfura had 40.53% of the vote, ahead of Nasralla with 39.16% and Moncada with just under twenty percent, per the election body's update.
Patience has worn thin over the last week as the counting was repeatedly halted, sometimes for extended periods.
Officials from the CNE blamed "system glitches."
They have also cautioned that numerous voting records with "irregularities" still need to be reviewed.
Trump's Endorsement and Surprise Pardon
The run-up to the election was overshadowed by Trump's support for 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 Narcocommunists."
"Our support will be strong should Asfura win, but the United States will not be throwing good money after bad, because a wrong Leader can only bring catastrophic results," Trump added.
In a surprise move two days before the election, Trump also granted clemency to jailed former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who stems from the same party as Asfura.
Hernández was in the midst of a 45-year prison sentence in the US for trafficking cocaine.
His clemency and freedom has shocked Honduran authorities, who issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who remains in the US.
Rising Tensions and Allegations 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.
"They will face severe consequences," the US president said without offering proof of any fraud.
Ever since 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 blamed unnamed "bad actors" for "delaying the counting process."
Under Honduran law, the CNE has until 30 December to declare a winner.
