🔗 Share this article Presidential Candidate Alleges Vote Has Been 'Stolen' The atmosphere has been tense as the lead changed hands several times. The centrist 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 yet to announce 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, declared on social media: "This is theft." The progressive hopeful placed in third, Rixi Moncada, has demanded the vote to be annulled and alleged US interference by Trump in the election. Narrow Results and Growing Unrest With the vast majority of votes counted, Asfura had just over forty percent of the vote, ahead of Nasralla with under forty percent and Moncada with 19.32%, according to the National Electoral Council's (CNE) update. Frustration has been growing over the last week as the counting stalled several times, sometimes for days on end. Officials from the CNE blamed "technical problems." They have also warned that numerous voting records with "irregularities" still need to be reviewed. Trump's Endorsement and Surprise Pardon The period preceding the election was overshadowed by Trump's endorsement of Nasry "Tito" Asfura. Shortly before the vote, Trump backed 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 poor choice can only bring catastrophic results," Trump added. In a unexpected action two days before the election, Trump also granted clemency to 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 conspiring to import cocaine. His pardon and subsequent release has stunned Honduran authorities, who issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who is still 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. "If they do, there will be hell to pay," 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 urged 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.