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International
Community At Odds On Honduran General Elections
by Alejandra del Palacio
TEGUCIGALPA - The
political crisis in Honduras has continued
for more than five months since President
Manuel Zelaya was ousted on June 28 and
forced to flee to Costa Rica in a coup led
by Congress leader Roberto Micheletti.
Under the Tegucigalpa-San Jose Accord
reached on Oct. 29, the two sides agreed to
form a unity government and to hold general
elections on Nov. 29.
Opposition candidate Porfirio Lobo claimed
victory of the election but the newly
elected president is now facing an
international division.
Many countries, especially those in Latin
America, refuse to recognize the new
government and insist on Zelaya's immediate
restoration to the presidency.
Others, however, including the United
States, Canada, Peru, Costa Rica, and
Panama, have decided to recognize the
outcome of the election so as long as the
process proves to have been clean and
transparent.
VOICES AGAINST ELECTIONS
The Honduran issue dominated the 19th Ibero-American
Summit held in Estoril, Portugal, on Monday.
While differences remain, the participant
countries have pledged to release a
statement during the summit.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da
Silva said Monday in Estoril that his
government would not recognize the results
of the voting and would not "reconsider" its
negative stance on Honduras' general
elections.
Zelaya has been staying in the Brazilian
embassy in Tegucigalpa since returning to
Honduras in late September.
Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel
Mortatinos sided with Brazil, saying that
Spain neither recognizes the elections nor
"ignores them."
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez urged
the Ibero-American countries (Latin America,
Portugal, Spain and Andorra) to not
recognize Honduras' "illegitimate
government."
"To recognize the illegitimate result of
these illegal elections would be a betrayal
to the principles of peace, democracy and
justice," Rodriguez said.
Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Taina said
"the elections cannot be valid if they are
hosted without President Zelaya being
restored to power."
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said the
elections in Honduras should not imply the
validity of the coup because "it will set a
grave precedent and bring a series of
threats for Latin America."
Bolivian Foreign Minister Alfredo Rada said
his country would not recognize the new
president of Honduras or the electoral
process.
Meanwhile, the presidents of Nicaragua,
Uruguay and Guatemala also expressed their
opposition to the election and the
legitimacy of the new government.
VOICES IN FAVOR
On the other hand, the United States has
voiced support for the general elections and
urged both sides of the country's political
stalemate to implement a reconciliation
accord in order to end the crisis.
Micheletti earlier unilaterally announced
the formation of a unity government without
the participation of Zelaya and his
representatives.
Zelaya then declared the Tegucigalpa-San
Jose Accord "dead," which worsened the
situation and brought resolution of the
issue to a deadlock.
U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly
said Sunday that the turnout "shows that
given the opportunity to express themselves,
the Honduran people have viewed the election
as an important part of the solution to the
political crisis in their country,"
The election held in Honduras on Sunday was
supervised by 580 international observers,
most from the United States.
Following the U.S., Colombian President
Alvaro Uribe said during the summit that
"Colombia recognizes the new government, and
the new democratic election process in
Honduras of high participation, which cannot
be questioned."
The Costa Rican government hailed the
election outcome as "the decision of the
Honduran people of seeking an exit to the
crisis by a pacific and civic route."
Juan Carlos Varela, the vice president and
foreign minister of Panama, said in Estoril
that his government recognized the
legitimacy of the election and considers "it
is a very important step to overcome the
crisis."
Canada and Peru also said they recognize the
outcome of Sunday's elections.
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