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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Honduras Election Ends Peacefully (update) |
| 2009-11-30 |
| Nov. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Honduran voting to choose a new president following Manuel Zelaya’s overthrow five months ago ended peacefully today after soldiers and police stood guard at polling stations. The government of acting President Roberto Micheletti avoided the sometimes bloody clashes between the ousted regime’s backers and opponents, police and electoral observers said. Polls show Porfirio Lobo, a National Party leader who lost to Zelaya in 2005, is favored over the Liberal Party’sElvin Santos, Zelaya’s former vice president. The ballot is a chance for Honduras to advance beyond the political crisis and regain international legitimacy and access to much-needed aid, said James Creagan, former U.S. Ambassador to Honduras. “It’s so essential for Honduras to move forward now,” said Creagan, who observed the elections. “Honduras has lost a year or more of development because of this crisis.” The country’s electoral tribunal said results may not be available until 7 p.m. (8 p.m. New York time). International observers, including Creagan and Eduardo Montealegre, a lawmaker in Nicaragua, said the elections were peaceful. Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela have said they won’t recognize the results because the former leader hasn’t been restored to power. Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, who earlier attempted to broker a peace accord, urged countries to recognize the result if the election was fair. Zelaya, who isn’t a candidate, has said the vote is illegitimate and urged Hondurans to stay home. In September, he had said that the vote should take place. “The international community’s great efforts and attempts to overturn the coup have ended in failure,” Zelaya said Nov. 23. Police dispersed a crowd of about 100 election boycotters in the main square of San Pedro Sula after they allegedly broke a shop window, national police spokesman Danilo Orellano said. “Everyone is going out to vote, there have only been a few small incidents,” Orellano said. Aguada Aurualla, 74, a retired school teacher, said she cast her ballot for “democracy” and wasn’t fearful of protests. “I’ve voted all my life, I’m not stopping now,” she said as two armed soldiers stood watch at a polling station in Colonia Miraflores, a hilly suburb in Tegucigalpa. Congress will vote Dec. 2 on whether to allow Zelaya to return to office and finish his term before the new president takes over Jan. 27. The U.S. “supports the process” and will provide assistance to ensure a transparent vote, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said Nov. 24. Two months earlier, the U.S. had said the administration wouldn’t recognize the election “under the current circumstances,” citing restrictions on freedom of expression and movement imposed by Micheletti. The U.S. shift to backing the election will create a “domino” effect in the region, with other countries slowly accepting the ballot, said Kevin Casas-Zamora, senior Latin America Fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington. “A critical mass of countries will end up recognizing the elections,” Casas-Zamora said. “The election will stand.” |
| Posted by:Steve White |