🔗 Share this article Presidential Candidate Alleges Election Has Been 'Manipulated' The atmosphere has been tense as the lead changed hands several times. The moderate candidate in Honduras's tightly contested presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has accused "corrupt people" of manipulating the vote count in the Central American nation. Nine days after the election, the election authority has yet to announce a winner, but the latest results suggest that Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the right-wing contender endorsed by US President Donald Trump, holds a narrow lead. Nasralla, who had been leading earlier on before dropping into second place, stated on social media: "They have stolen it." The progressive hopeful placed in third, Rixi Moncada, has called for the vote to be annulled and alleged US interference by Trump in the election. Narrow Results and Growing Unrest With 98.77% of votes counted, Asfura had 40.53% of the vote, ahead of Nasralla with 39.16% and Moncada with 19.32%, 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 blamed "system glitches." They have also warned that thousands of voting records with "discrepancies" still need to be examined. Trump's Backing and Surprise Pardon The period preceding the election was dominated by Trump's endorsement of Nasry "Tito" Asfura. Shortly before the vote, Trump backed the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, saying that "We can work together to fight the drug traffickers." "Our support will be strong should Asfura win, but we will not be throwing good money after bad, because a wrong Leader can only bring disastrous outcomes," Trump added. In a surprise move two days before the election, Trump also pardoned 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 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, the situation has grown more tense as the lead in the vote count changed a number of times. 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. 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 protest publicly against what it called "the interference and coercion of the President of the United States." Nasralla pointed the finger at unnamed "corrupt ones" for "holding up the counting process." Under Honduran law, the CNE has until 30 December to announce a victor.