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The centrist candidate in Honduras's tightly contested presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has accused "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 latest results suggest that Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the right-wing contender backed by US President Donald Trump, holds a narrow lead.

Nasralla, who had been ahead in the initial stages before falling to second place, stated on social media: "This is a robbery."

The progressive hopeful trailing in third, Rixi Moncada, has demanded the vote to be invalidated and accused Trump of the election.

Close Results and Growing Frustration

With 98.77% of votes counted, Asfura had 40.53% of the vote, leading Nasralla with under forty percent and Moncada with 19.32%, per the National Electoral Council's (CNE) update.

Frustration has been growing over the last week as the counting was repeatedly halted, sometimes for extended periods.

Officials from the CNE blamed "system glitches."

They have also warned that thousands of voting records with "discrepancies" still need to be examined.

Trump's Endorsement and Surprise Pardon

The period preceding the election was overshadowed by Trump's endorsement of Nasry "Tito" Asfura.

Shortly before the vote, Trump threw his weight behind the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, stating that "Tito and I can work together to fight the drug traffickers."

"We will be very supportive should Asfura win, but the United States will not be wasting resources, because a wrong Leader 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 in the midst of a 45-year prison sentence in the US for trafficking cocaine.

His pardon and subsequent release has shocked Honduran authorities, who have issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who is still in the US.

Mounting Tensions and Claims of Interference

At the same time, tension has been rising as the lead in the vote count fluctuated repeatedly.

Trump claimed the CNE of "trying to change" the outcome when Nasralla pulled past 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 protest publicly against what it called "meddling and pressure of the President of the United States."

Nasralla blamed unnamed "corrupt ones" for "delaying the counting process."

Under Honduran law, the CNE has until 30 December to declare a winner.