π Share this article Presidential Candidate Alleges Election Has Been 'Rigged' The atmosphere has been tense as the lead changed hands several times. The centrist candidate in Honduras's knife-edge presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has accused "unscrupulous individuals" 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 most recent tally suggest that Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the conservative candidate 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: "This is a robbery." The progressive hopeful placed in third, Rixi Moncada, has demanded 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 19.32%, per the election body's update. Frustration has been growing over the last week as the counting stalled several times, sometimes for days on end. Representatives of the CNE attributed the delays to "system glitches." They have also warned that thousands of voting records with "irregularities" still need to be reviewed. Trump's Backing and Controversial Pardon The run-up to the election was overshadowed by Trump's endorsement of Nasry "Tito" Asfura. Just days 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 the United States will not be wasting resources, because a wrong Leader can only bring disastrous outcomes," Trump added. In a surprise move two days before the election, Trump also granted clemency to jailed former Honduran president Juan Orlando HernΓ‘ndez, who stems from the same party as Asfura. HernΓ‘ndez was in the midst of a 45-year prison sentence in the US for trafficking cocaine. His clemency and freedom has shocked Honduran authorities, who have issued an international arrest warrant for HernΓ‘ndez, who is still in the US. Mounting Tensions and Claims of Meddling At the same time, tension has been rising as the lead in the vote count fluctuated repeatedly. Trump accused the CNE of "seeking to alter" the outcome when Nasralla overtook Asfura early on. "If they do, there will be hell to pay," the US president said without providing evidence of any fraud. Since the moment the Trump-endorsed Asfura took 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 called on 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 "corrupt ones" for "delaying the counting process." According to the nation's regulations, the CNE has until 30 December to announce a victor.