Honduran Contender Claims Election Has Been 'Stolen'
The moderate candidate in Honduras's tightly contested 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 election authority 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 narrow lead.
Nasralla, who had been ahead in the initial stages before dropping into second place, declared on social media: "They have stolen it."
The progressive hopeful 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 under forty percent and Moncada with just under twenty percent, according to the National Electoral Council's (CNE) update.
Patience has worn thin over the last week as the counting was repeatedly halted, sometimes for days on end.
Representatives of the CNE attributed the delays to "IT issues."
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 dominated by Trump's support for Nasry "Tito" Asfura.
Shortly before the vote, Trump threw his weight behind the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, stating that "We can work together to fight the drug traffickers."
"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 granted clemency to jailed former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who is from the same party as Asfura.
Hernández was in the midst of a 45-year prison sentence in the US for conspiring to import 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 Meddling
At the same time, the situation has grown more tense 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.
"They will face severe consequences," the US president said without providing evidence of any fraud.
Ever since 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 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."
According to the nation's regulations, the CNE has until 30 December to announce a victor.