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The centrist candidate in Honduras's knife-edge presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has accused "unscrupulous individuals" of tampering with the vote count in the Central American nation.

Nine days after the election, the election authority has still not declared a winner, but the latest results suggest that Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the conservative candidate endorsed by US President Donald Trump, holds a narrow lead.

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

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

Narrow Results and Growing Frustration

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

Patience has worn thin over the last week as the counting was repeatedly halted, sometimes for days on end.

Representatives of 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 run-up to the election was overshadowed by Trump's support for Nasry "Tito" Asfura.

Just days before the vote, Trump threw his weight behind the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, saying that "We can work together to fight the Narcocommunists."

"We will be very supportive should Asfura win, but we 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 stems from the same party as Asfura.

Hernández was serving a 45-year prison sentence in the US for conspiring to import cocaine.

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

Rising Tensions and Claims of Meddling

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.

"They will face severe consequences," the US president said without offering proof 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 "holding up the counting process."

According to the nation's regulations, the CNE has until 30 December to declare a winner.