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

Nine days after the election, the election authority has yet to announce a winner, but the most recent tally 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, stated on social media: "They have stolen it."

The progressive hopeful placed in third, Rixi Moncada, has called for the vote to be invalidated and alleged US interference by Trump in the election.

Close Results and Growing Unrest

With 98.77% of votes counted, Asfura had 40.53% of the vote, leading Nasralla with under forty percent and Moncada with just under twenty percent, per the election body's update.

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

Representatives of the CNE blamed "IT issues."

They have also warned that numerous voting records with "irregularities" still need to be examined.

Trump's Endorsement and Surprise Pardon

The run-up to the election was dominated 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."

"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 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 issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who is still in the US.

Rising Tensions and Claims of Interference

At the same time, the situation has grown more tense as the lead in the vote count fluctuated repeatedly.

Trump claimed the CNE of "seeking to alter" the outcome when Nasralla overtook 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 crying foul.

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 "the interference and coercion of the President of the United States."

Nasralla blamed unnamed "corrupt ones" for "holding up the counting process."

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