🔗 Share this article

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 yet to announce 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, declared on social media: "This is theft."

The progressive hopeful placed in third, Rixi Moncada, has demanded the vote to be invalidated and accused Trump of the election.

Close Results and Growing Unrest

With 98.77% of votes counted, Asfura had 40.53% of the vote, leading Nasralla with under forty percent and Moncada with 19.32%, according to the election body's update.

Frustration has been growing over the last week as the counting stalled several times, sometimes for extended periods.

Officials from the CNE attributed the delays to "system glitches."

They have also warned that thousands of voting records with "discrepancies" still need to be reviewed.

Trump's Endorsement 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 "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 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 stems from the same party as Asfura.

Hernández was serving a 45-year prison sentence in the US for trafficking cocaine.

His pardon and subsequent release has shocked Honduran authorities, who issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who remains in the US.

Mounting 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 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 alleging misconduct.

Rixi Moncada's Libre party called for the "the total annulment" of the elections.

It also called on its supporters to take to the streets against what it called "meddling and pressure 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.