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The centrist 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 conservative candidate backed by US President Donald Trump, holds a narrow lead.

Nasralla, who had been leading earlier on before dropping into second place, stated on social media: "They have stolen it."

The left-wing candidate 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, ahead of Nasralla with under forty percent and Moncada with just under twenty percent, according to the National Electoral Council's (CNE) update.

Patience has worn thin over the last week as the counting was repeatedly halted, sometimes for extended periods.

Officials from the CNE attributed the delays to "system glitches."

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

Trump's Backing and Controversial Pardon

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

Shortly before the vote, Trump backed the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, stating that "Tito and I can work together to fight the Narcocommunists."

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

His clemency and freedom has stunned Honduran authorities, who issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who is still in the US.

Mounting Tensions and Claims of Meddling

Meanwhile, the situation has grown more tense 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.

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 "the total annulment" of the elections.

It also urged its supporters to take to the streets against what it called "meddling and pressure of the President of the United States."

Nasralla pointed the finger at unnamed "bad actors" for "holding up the counting process."

Under Honduran law, the CNE has until 30 December to announce a victor.