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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.

Over a week after the election, the election authority has still not declared a winner, but the latest results suggest that Nasry "Tito" Asfura, the conservative candidate backed by US President Donald Trump, holds a slim advantage.

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

The left-wing candidate trailing in third, Rixi Moncada, has demanded the vote to be invalidated and accused Trump of the election.

Narrow Results and Growing Unrest

With the vast majority of votes counted, Asfura had just over forty percent of the vote, leading Nasralla with 39.16% and Moncada with just under twenty percent, according to the election body's update.

Frustration has been growing over the last week as the counting was repeatedly halted, sometimes for extended periods.

Representatives of the CNE attributed the delays to "IT issues."

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

Trump's Backing and Controversial Pardon

The period preceding the election was dominated by Trump's support for Nasry "Tito" Asfura.

Just days before the vote, Trump backed the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, saying that "Tito and I can work together to fight the Narcocommunists."

"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 stems from the same party as Asfura.

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

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

Rising Tensions and Claims of Interference

Meanwhile, tension has been rising 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.

"If they do, there will be hell to pay," the US president said without providing evidence of any fraud.

Since the moment the Trump-endorsed Asfura moved in the lead, it has been his two rivals alleging misconduct.

Rixi Moncada's Libre party called for the "the total annulment" of the elections.

It also called on its supporters to take to the streets against what it called "meddling and pressure 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 declare a winner.