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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.

Nine days after the election, the election authority has yet to announce 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 leading earlier on before dropping into second place, declared on social media: "They have stolen it."

The left-wing candidate placed in third, Rixi Moncada, has demanded the vote to be annulled and alleged US interference by Trump in the election.

Narrow Results and Growing Frustration

With 98.77% of votes counted, Asfura had just over forty percent of the vote, ahead of Nasralla with 39.16% 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.

Representatives of the CNE attributed the delays to "technical problems."

They have also cautioned that numerous voting records with "discrepancies" still need to be reviewed.

Trump's Backing and Surprise Pardon

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

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

"Our support will be strong 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 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 remains in the US.

Rising Tensions and Claims of Interference

Meanwhile, 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 overtook 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 moved in 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 "the interference and coercion 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.