Honduran presidential candidate claims Trump intervened in the election

The centrist candidate Salvador Nasralla, in the Honduran presidential election, accused US President Donald Trump of interfering in the election, following reports of other violations during the election process.

The US president previously supported 67-year-old conservative candidate Nasry Asfura and called Nasralla a "quasi-communist" – Nasralla claims these moves could cost him the victory.

72-year-old Nasralla said in an exclusive interview with Reuters on Thursday, "It hurt me a lot because I had a big lead at that time."

The US president cast a shadow over this competitive election that determines the next president of the Central American country.

The US president claimed without evidence that the Sunday's peaceful voting had fraud because early (but incomplete) results showed a "technical tie" between Nasralla and Asfura.

"It seems Honduras is trying to change the outcome of the presidential election," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday, "if they succeed, the consequences would be unimaginable!"

The US president had previously threatened to cut aid to Honduras if Asfura did not win the election and said that officials who tamper with the election results would "pay a heavy price".

On the eve of Sunday's vote, he also took an unusual step, announcing the pardon of former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was convicted in the US for drug trafficking.

According to Reuters, as of late Thursday, election authorities said they had counted 87% of the votes, but 17% of the votes were "inconsistent" and under review.

Reuters said they must submit the final results by December 30.

According to Reuters, a survey on Thursday showed Asfura leading Nasralla by a narrow margin of 40.27% to 39.38%, but experts say the election result remains unpredictable.

This week, Nasralla also posted a series of posts on X, claiming irregularities and ballot tampering during the primary voting, although his allegations have not been independently verified.

Source: Al Jazeera

Original: toutiao.com/article/1850650884569546/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.