Asia-Pacific
Honduras Congress votes not to restore Zelaya
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-12-03 11:11
|
 Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya (C) walks with supporters inside the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa November 28, 2009. [Agencies] |
TEGUCIGALPA: The Honduran Congress voted on Wednesday not to allow the reinstatement of ousted President Manuel Zelaya, a move that closes the door on his return to power after he was toppled in a June coup.
Congress was deciding Zelaya's fate as part of a US-brokered deal between the deposed leftist and the country's de facto leaders who took power after the coup.
Congress had already reached the simple majority needed to block Zelaya's reinstatement, but as the vote carried on late into the evening, it appeared the margin would be even wider.
Opposition candidate Porfirio Lobo won Sunday's presidential election in Honduras. The United States quickly recognized the results but said the vote was only a partial step toward restoring democracy.
The stance has split the United States from Latin American powers like Brazil and Argentina that say it is impossible to recognize an election organized by a de facto government.
Zelaya was rousted from his bed by soldiers and sent into exile on a military plane on June 28 after he angered business leaders and members of his own party by moving closer to Venezuela's socialist president, Hugo Chavez.
The Supreme Court ordered his arrest, charging him with violating the constitution and Congress then voted to strip him of his powers. Critics say he was aiming at a constitutional overhaul in an attempt to stay in power, a charge he denies.
Lobo's conservative National Party took a firm stance against Zelaya in Wednesday's session.
"If we reinstate Zelaya, it will be worse for the country, the crisis would continue, and democracy would once again be in danger," National Party congressman Victor Barnica said.
