🔗 Share this article Presidential Contender Claims Vote Has Been 'Stolen' Tensions have run high as the lead changed hands several times. The centrist candidate in Honduras's tightly contested presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has alleged "unscrupulous individuals" of tampering with the vote count in the country. 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 right-wing contender endorsed by US President Donald Trump, holds a slim advantage. Nasralla, who had been ahead in the initial stages before falling to second place, declared on social media: "They have stolen it." The left-wing candidate trailing in third, Rixi Moncada, has called for 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 just under twenty percent, according to the National Electoral Council's (CNE) 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 "system glitches." They have also warned that thousands of voting records with "inconsistencies" still need to be reviewed. Trump's Endorsement and Controversial Pardon The period preceding the election was overshadowed by Trump's endorsement of Nasry "Tito" Asfura. Just days before the vote, Trump threw his weight behind the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, stating 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 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 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 remains in the US. Rising 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 "trying to change" the outcome when Nasralla overtook Asfura early on. "They will face severe consequences," the US president said without providing evidence of any fraud. Ever since the Trump-endorsed Asfura took 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 called on its supporters to protest publicly against what it called "meddling and pressure of the President of the United States." Nasralla pointed the finger at unnamed "bad actors" for "delaying the counting process." According to the nation's regulations, the CNE has until 30 December to declare a winner.