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

Over a week after the election, the election authority 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 falling to second place, declared on social media: "This is theft."

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 Frustration

With 98.77% of votes counted, Asfura had just over forty percent of the vote, leading Nasralla with 39.16% and Moncada with just under twenty percent, 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.

Officials from the CNE attributed the delays to "IT issues."

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

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 "Tito and I can work together to fight the drug traffickers."

"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 stems from the same party as Asfura.

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

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

Rising Tensions and Allegations of Meddling

Meanwhile, tension has been rising as the lead in the vote count changed a number of times.

Trump accused the CNE of "seeking to alter" the outcome when Nasralla overtook Asfura early on.

"They will face severe consequences," the US president said without offering proof 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 "complete cancellation" of the elections.

It also urged its supporters to protest publicly against what it called "the interference and coercion of the President of the United States."

Nasralla blamed unnamed "bad actors" for "delaying the counting process."

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