Salvador Nasralla, presidential candidate for the Opposition Alliance Against the Dictatorship, looks on during an interview with Reuters at a hotel in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, November 28, 2017. REUTERS/Jorge Cabrera

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Salvador Nasralla, the Honduran opposition candidate whose early lead against President Juan Orlando Hernandez in a presidential election has evaporated, on Wednesday said he rejected the vote count of the electoral tribunal.

Earlier, both candidates vowed to respect the final result once every disputed vote had been scrutinized, issuing signed statements brokered by the Organization of American States.

But Nasralla told a news conference a few hours later that the document had “no validity” and rejected the count.

Nasralla initially held a five point lead against Hernandez until the electoral count suddenly stopped on Monday. When it restarted on Tuesday, the count began favoring Hernandez who edged ahead earlier on Wednesday before it stopped again.