Presidential Contender Alleges Election Has Been 'Rigged'
The moderate candidate in Honduras's tightly contested presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has accused "unscrupulous individuals" of tampering with 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 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 a robbery."
The left-wing candidate placed in third, Rixi Moncada, has called for the vote to be invalidated and accused Trump of the election.
Narrow Results and Growing Frustration
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 just under twenty percent, per 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 "IT issues."
They have also cautioned that thousands of voting records with "inconsistencies" still need to be examined.
Trump's Backing and Surprise Pardon
The run-up to the election was dominated by Trump's endorsement of Nasry "Tito" Asfura.
Shortly before the vote, Trump threw his weight behind the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, saying that "We can work together to fight the drug traffickers."
"We will be very supportive should Asfura win, but we will not be wasting resources, because a poor choice 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 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.
Mounting Tensions and Claims of Interference
Meanwhile, tension has been rising 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.
"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 took 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 urged its supporters to take to the streets against what it called "meddling and pressure of the President of the United States."
Nasralla pointed the finger at 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.
