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Soldiers with barricades in Honduras - Source: Reuters -
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Honduras chooses a new president in an election that may defuse
a crisis caused by a coup against President Manuel Zelaya, but the
vote is splitting Washington and Latin America.
Neither Zelaya nor arch-rival Roberto Micheletti, the country's de
facto leader, are running in the election, which could give a new
president the chance to take Honduras beyond the political gridlock
that has divided the Central American nation and cut off
international aid.
"We see the running of these elections - assuming that they're run
in a fair and transparent way - we see them as an essential part of
the solution of this crisis," US State Department spokesman Ian
Kelly said this week.
Leftist Zelaya was ousted by the army in June and replaced by
Micheletti who has blocked attempts backed by the United States,
Latin America and Europe to have the president reinstated.
Zelaya - now holed up in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa - and
his supporters argue that recognizing the elections would
essentially give the coup leaders victory.
Zelaya is urging the vote be rescheduled.
Latin American powers like Argentina and Brazil also say an
election organized by Micheletti's de facto government is not
valid, possibly putting them at odds with Washington which looks
likely to recognize the vote.
The Organization of American States and the independent Carter
Center are not sending observer missions.
Human rights groups fear there could be violence.
The two leading candidates, from Honduras' traditional ruling
elite, have skilfully avoided much talk of the crisis in their
election campaigns and hope Honduras will be welcomed back into the
international fold after the vote.
Some analysts say under this scenario Zelaya would fade from the
headlines.
Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo of the conservative opposition National Party,
has emerged as the frontrunner in the election, scheduled before
the June 28 coup.
In an October poll by CID-Gallup, Lobo was 16 points ahead of his
closest rival, Elvin Santos from Zelaya and Micheletti's Liberal
Party.
A wealthy landowner who lost the 2005 election to Zelaya, Lobo is
seen backing investment-friendly policies if he wins.
"Today begins the turning of a new page in Honduran history. We
should leave behind differences and unite together to look
forward," Lobo said at a closing rally in the capital this week
jazzed up by thumping music and dancing girls.
Many Hondurans are tired of the crisis and want to move on.
"(Micheletti and Zelaya) caused this problem and the people are the
ones suffering ... The vote is our only way out of this," said
engineer Hector Guzman, 48, at the Lobo rally.
International lenders slashed aid to the poor coffee- and
textile-exporting country and the Organization of American States
suspended Honduras to punish the coup leaders.
Vote worries
Honduras' Supreme Court said in a non-binding opinion that Zelaya
cannot legally return to office, dimming the possibility of his
reinstatement, court sources said.
When in power, Zelaya crossed Congress, the Supreme Court and the
military with a bid to change the constitution.
Critics say he wanted new rules to stay in power, but he denies
this.
Security forces have repeatedly cracked down on anti-coup protests,
causing several deaths, and some observers say a fair vote is
impossible after Micheletti temporarily shut down pro-Zelaya news
channels.
When soldiers rousted Zelaya from his bed at dawn and sent him to
Costa Rica on a military plane, it conjured up memories of Central
America's dark Cold War past when military leaders often backed by
the United States overthrew democratic governments.
Zelaya said this week it would be undemocratic if the United States
ended up backing the result of an election held by a post-coup
government, since coup leaders supported the vote from day
one.
"The US position ... has divided the Americas and is creating a
grave precedent," Zelaya said.
Micheletti and his supporters accuse Zelaya of getting too close to
Venezuela's socialist President Hugo Chavez.
But the rancher and logging magnate is an unlikely working-class
hero who some say did little to systematically improve the lot of
Honduras' poor while in power.
