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The centrist candidate in Honduras's tightly contested presidential election, Salvador Nasralla, has alleged "corrupt people" of manipulating 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 endorsed by US President Donald Trump, holds a slim advantage.

Nasralla, who had been leading earlier on before falling to second place, declared on social media: "This is theft."

The progressive hopeful trailing in third, Rixi Moncada, has demanded the vote to be annulled and accused Trump of 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 19.32%, according to the election body's update.

Patience has worn thin over the last week as the counting stalled several times, sometimes for extended periods.

Officials from the CNE blamed "technical problems."

They have also cautioned that thousands of voting records with "irregularities" 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.

Just days before the vote, Trump threw his weight behind the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, saying 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 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 stunned Honduran authorities, who 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 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 alleging misconduct.

Rixi Moncada's Libre party called for the "complete cancellation" 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 announce a victor.