🔗 Share this article Presidential Contender Claims Election Has Been 'Rigged' Tensions have run high as the lead changed hands several times. The moderate candidate in Honduras's tightly contested presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has alleged "unscrupulous individuals" of manipulating the vote count in the country. Nine days after the election, the electoral council 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 slim advantage. Nasralla, who had been leading earlier on 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 Unrest With the vast majority of votes counted, Asfura had 40.53% of the vote, ahead of Nasralla with under forty percent and Moncada with just under twenty percent, according to the election body's update. Patience has worn thin over the last week as the counting stalled several times, sometimes for extended periods. Representatives of the CNE blamed "system glitches." They have also warned that thousands of voting records with "irregularities" still need to be reviewed. Trump's Endorsement 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 "Tito and I can work together to fight the Narcocommunists." "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 granted clemency to 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 trafficking cocaine. His clemency and freedom has stunned Honduran authorities, who have 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 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 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 take to the streets against what it called "the interference and coercion of the President of the United States." Nasralla pointed the finger at unnamed "corrupt ones" for "delaying the counting process." Under Honduran law, the CNE has until 30 December to declare a winner.