đŸ”— Share this article Honduran Candidate Claims Election Has Been 'Manipulated' Tensions have run high as the lead changed hands several times. The moderate candidate in Honduras's knife-edge presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has accused "corrupt people" of tampering with the vote count in the Central American nation. Nine days after the election, the electoral council has still not declared a winner, but the most recent tally 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: "This is theft." The progressive hopeful trailing in third, Rixi Moncada, has demanded the vote to be invalidated and alleged US interference by Trump in the election. Narrow Results and Growing Unrest With 98.77% of votes counted, Asfura had 40.53% of the vote, ahead of Nasralla with 39.16% and Moncada with just under twenty percent, per 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. Representatives of the CNE blamed "technical problems." They have also cautioned that numerous voting records with "discrepancies" still need to be examined. Trump's Backing and Surprise Pardon The period preceding the election was dominated by Trump's support for Nasry "Tito" Asfura. Shortly before the vote, Trump backed the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, stating that "We can work together to fight the Narcocommunists." "Our support will be strong should Asfura win, but the United States 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 HernĂ¡ndez, who is from the same party as Asfura. HernĂ¡ndez was in the midst of a 45-year prison sentence in the US for conspiring to import cocaine. His pardon and subsequent release has shocked Honduran authorities, who issued an international arrest warrant for HernĂ¡ndez, who remains in the US. Mounting Tensions and Allegations of Meddling At the same time, 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. "If they do, there will be hell to pay," 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 "the total annulment" of the elections. It also urged 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 "bad actors" for "holding up the counting process." According to the nation's regulations, the CNE has until 30 December to announce a victor.