🔗 Share this article Presidential Candidate Alleges Vote 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 alleged "unscrupulous individuals" of tampering with the vote count in the Central American nation. Nine days after the election, the electoral council has still not declared a winner, but the latest results suggest that Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the conservative candidate endorsed by US President Donald Trump, holds a slim advantage. Nasralla, who had been ahead in the initial stages before dropping into second place, stated on social media: "They have stolen it." The left-wing candidate placed in third, Rixi Moncada, has demanded the vote to be invalidated and alleged US interference by Trump in 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 just under twenty percent, according to the National Electoral Council's (CNE) update. Frustration has been growing 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 "irregularities" still need to be examined. Trump's Backing and Controversial Pardon The run-up to the election was overshadowed by Trump's endorsement of Nasry "Tito" Asfura. Just days before the vote, Trump backed the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, stating that "We can work together to fight the drug traffickers." "We will be very supportive should Asfura win, but we 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 pardoned 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 pardon and subsequent release has shocked Honduran authorities, who have issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who is still in the US. Mounting Tensions and Allegations of Meddling At the same time, tension has been rising as the lead in the vote count changed a number of times. Trump accused 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. 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 "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 pointed the finger at unnamed "corrupt ones" for "delaying the counting process." Under Honduran law, the CNE has until 30 December to announce a victor.