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The moderate candidate in Honduras's tightly contested presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has alleged "corrupt people" of manipulating the vote count in the country.

Over a week after the election, the electoral council has still not declared a winner, but the latest results suggest that Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the conservative candidate backed by US President Donald Trump, holds a slim advantage.

Nasralla, who had been leading earlier on before dropping into second place, stated on social media: "This is theft."

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 Frustration

With the vast majority of votes counted, Asfura had 40.53% of the vote, leading Nasralla with under forty percent and Moncada with 19.32%, according to the election body's update.

Patience has worn thin over the last week as the counting stalled several times, sometimes for days on end.

Representatives of the CNE attributed the delays to "system glitches."

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

Trump's Endorsement and Controversial Pardon

The run-up to the election was overshadowed 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 drug traffickers."

"We will be very supportive 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 surprise move two days before the election, Trump also granted clemency to jailed former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who is from the same party as Asfura.

Hernández was serving a 45-year prison sentence in the US for trafficking cocaine.

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

Rising 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 pulled past 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.