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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 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 right-wing contender endorsed by US President Donald Trump, holds a slim advantage.

Nasralla, who had been ahead in the initial stages before dropping into second place, stated on social media: "This is a robbery."

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

Narrow Results and Growing Frustration

With the vast majority of votes counted, Asfura had 40.53% of the vote, ahead of 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 stalled several times, sometimes for extended periods.

Representatives of the CNE blamed "system glitches."

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

Trump's Backing and Controversial Pardon

The period preceding the election was dominated by Trump's endorsement of 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 the United States will not be throwing good money after bad, because a poor choice can only bring disastrous outcomes," 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 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.

Mounting Tensions and Allegations of Interference

Meanwhile, the situation has grown more tense as the lead in the vote count fluctuated repeatedly.

Trump accused 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.

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 "complete cancellation" 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."

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