🔗 Share this article Presidential Contender Alleges Election Has Been 'Stolen' The atmosphere has been tense as the lead changed hands several times. The moderate candidate in Honduras's knife-edge presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has alleged "corrupt people" of manipulating the vote count in the Central American nation. Over a week after the election, the election authority has still not declared a winner, but the latest results suggest that Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the right-wing contender backed by US President Donald Trump, holds a narrow lead. Nasralla, who had been ahead in the initial stages before falling to second place, declared on social media: "This is a robbery." The left-wing candidate placed in third, Rixi Moncada, has demanded the vote to be invalidated and accused Trump of the election. Close Results and Growing Unrest With the vast majority of votes counted, Asfura had 40.53% of the vote, leading Nasralla with 39.16% 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 days on end. Officials from the CNE blamed "technical problems." They have also cautioned that numerous voting records with "inconsistencies" still need to be reviewed. Trump's Backing and Controversial Pardon The period preceding the election was dominated 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 wrong Leader can only bring catastrophic results," 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 in the midst of 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, 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 overtook Asfura early on. "They will face severe consequences," the US president said without offering proof of any fraud. Ever since the Trump-endorsed Asfura moved in the lead, it has been his two rivals alleging misconduct. Rixi Moncada's Libre party called for the "complete cancellation" 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 "bad actors" for "delaying the counting process." Under Honduran law, the CNE has until 30 December to declare a winner.