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The centrist candidate in Honduras's tightly contested presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has accused "unscrupulous individuals" of manipulating the vote count in the Central American nation.

Nine days after the election, the electoral council has yet to announce a winner, but the most recent tally suggest that Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the right-wing contender backed by US President Donald Trump, holds a narrow lead.

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

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

Close 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, according to the election body's update.

Patience has worn thin over the last week as the counting stalled several times, sometimes for days on end.

Officials from the CNE attributed the delays to "system glitches."

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

Trump's Endorsement and Surprise Pardon

The run-up to 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, stating that "Tito and I can work together to fight the drug traffickers."

"Our support will be strong should Asfura win, but the United States will not be throwing good money after bad, because a wrong Leader 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 clemency and freedom has shocked Honduran authorities, who have issued an international arrest warrant for Hernández, who remains in the US.

Rising Tensions and Allegations 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 "seeking to alter" the outcome when Nasralla pulled past Asfura early on.

"They will face severe consequences," the US president said without offering proof 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."

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