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CENTRAL AMERICA |
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Abstentionism and Repression Marred Honduran
Elections
TEGUCIGALPA - A huge intimidating
military deployment, repression and abstentionism characterized on Sunday the
widely criticized elections in Honduras,
organized by the de facto regime.
The National Front against the Coup d'Etat,
which has been leading the resistance since
the military coup on June 28, called the
elections a failure.
Honduran constitutional President Manuel
Zelaya said the voting, with over 65 percent
of abstentionism, should be declared null
and void, and re-scheduled for a later
opportunity, when the necessary conditions
exist to re-establish democracy in the
country.
Meanwhile, Honduran media outlets, at the
putschists' service, maintain a strenuous
campaign about a supposed massive turnout at
the polls and about success of the
elections.
Human Rights organizations denounced
numerous violations of the fundamental
rights, as raids, arrests, intimidation
against the population and other actions by
the military and the police to force people
to vote. At the main square of San Pedro de
Sula, Honduras' economic capital, the
military violently repressed a peaceful
demonstration in which the people were
demanding a return to true democracy.
Those violations were confirmed by members
of US groups that protested in front of
their country's embassy in Tegucigalpa to
demand that President Barack Obama does not
acknowledge the elections.
Many nations from Latin America and Europe
have said they would ignore the outcome.
The National Front reported that repressive
actions have been carried out in
neighborhoods of the capital and other areas
in the country.
At a press conference, the organization said
there was a poor turnout of voters "despite
an intimidation campaign, with threats to
imprison the population if they did not show
up to vote."
Five parties, acknowledged by the Supreme
Electoral Court, participated in the
elections.
On Sunday night, Porfirio Lobo, of the
ultra-conservative National Party, claimed
victory over Elvin Santos, a rich
businessman supported by a section of the
Liberal Party sector that backed the coup. |
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