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Honduras tries to poll out of coup crisis
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-11-27 11:44

Honduras tries to poll out of coup crisis
A worker carries election materials for distribution in the country, in Tegucigalpa November 24, 2009. [Agencies]

Vote Worries

Honduras' Supreme Court said on Wednesday 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.

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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 told Reuters 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.