The centrist candidate in Honduras's tightly contested presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has accused "corrupt people" of manipulating the vote count in the country.
Over a week after the election, the election authority has still not declared a winner, but the latest results suggest that Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the right-wing contender endorsed by US President Donald Trump, holds a narrow lead.
Nasralla, who had been ahead in the initial stages before dropping into second place, declared on social media: "This is theft."
The progressive hopeful trailing in third, Rixi Moncada, has demanded the vote to be annulled and accused Trump of the election.
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, per the election body's update.
Patience has worn thin over the last week as the counting stalled several times, sometimes for extended periods.
Officials from the CNE blamed "system glitches."
They have also cautioned that numerous voting records with "irregularities" still need to be reviewed.
The run-up to 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."
"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 Hernรกndez, who stems from the same party as Asfura.
Hernรกndez was in the midst of a 45-year prison sentence in the US for conspiring to import cocaine.
His clemency and freedom has shocked Honduran authorities, who issued an international arrest warrant for Hernรกndez, who remains in the US.
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 pulled past Asfura early on.
"They will face severe consequences," 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 alleging misconduct.
Rixi Moncada's Libre party called for the "the total annulment" of the elections.
It also urged its supporters to protest publicly against what it called "meddling and pressure of the President of the United States."
Nasralla blamed unnamed "bad actors" for "holding up the counting process."
According to the nation's regulations, the CNE has until 30 December to declare a winner.
Rashid Al-Mansoori is a tech journalist with over a decade of experience covering innovations and digital transformations in the Middle East.
