Honduran lawmakers to set Zelaya vote timeline

Tue, Nov 3 10:51 PM

Enlarge Photo Riot police walk near the site of a protest by supporters of ousted Honduras' President... Slideshow: World in pictures: November 03

Leading Honduran lawmakers were to meet on Tuesday to set a date for a Congress vote on restoring ousted President Manuel Zelaya to end a four-month political crisis and win international recognition for an upcoming presidential election.

A U.S.-brokered accord signed last week to end the worst political upheaval in Central America in two decades stipulates Congress must decide whether Zelaya, toppled in a June 28 coup, can return to serve out the rest of his term until January.

Zelaya says he must be returned to power this week to comply with the deal. But it set no date for a congressional vote and the de facto government of Roberto Micheletti says the deal could be fulfilled even without Zelaya's reinstatement.

At stake for Honduras, a poor country that produces coffee and exports clothes to its main trade partner the United States, are hundreds of millions of dollars in international aid that were cut off after the coup.

Unless the points of last week's agreement are met, foreign governments could also refuse to recognize the result of the Nov. 29 presidential election.

Chilean ex-President Ricardo Lagos and U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis were to arrive in Tegucigalpa on Tuesday to lead a commission of the Organization of American States, or OAS, to oversee fulfillment of the accords.

The deal was praised by Washington as a major breakthrough even as it remained unclear whether it would lead to Zelaya's return.

OAS head Jose Miguel Insulza said that, despite vague timing in the accord, its spirit is to reinstate the leftist.

"It is time that they leave off the rhetoric... Naturally the Honduran Congress will decide, but I believe the only road to peace is to reestablish President Zelaya because of the short time that is left to his presidency," Insulza told a Chilean radio station on Tuesday.

CONGRESS COULD DRAG FEET

Some experts said Congress could delay a vote for some time. "The accord is not at all favorable for Zelaya, it does not assure his restitution and it sets no date," said Luis Cosenza, who was presidency minister for former President Ricardo Maduro.

The 128-seat unicameral Congress is in recess and many lawmakers are busy campaigning out in their districts, waiting to see whether the board of top lawmakers and party heads who meet on Tuesday call them in for a special session.

Zelaya was flown out of the country during the coup but sneaked back into Tegucigalpa in September and has been holed up in the Brazilian embassy ever since.

Under the accord, a unity government must be set up this week, but it does not say who would preside the government. The Supreme Court is also charged with issuing a non-binding resolution on whether or not it is legal to reinstate Zelaya.

Congress and the Supreme Court both backed Zelaya's ouster on the grounds he had illegally sought a public vote on changing the constitution to allegedly allow presidential re-election. Congress named Micheletti as interim leader.

Zelaya and Micheletti are both from the Liberal Party, whose 62 lawmakers are divided over a Zelaya return.

The opposition National Party, with 55 seats in Congress, is seen as key to whether or not Zelaya is reinstalled. Its candidate for the November election, Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo, has a double digit lead in opinion polls.

Analysts said he and his party are weighing whether or not to support Zelaya in Congress. If they smooth the way for a Zelaya return they could win international support for an eventual Lobo government, yet they could also scare away some Honduran voters who are anti-Zelaya.

Zelaya caused fissures in the Liberal Party when he cozied up to Venezuela's socialist President Hugo Chavez. He denies accusations that he was seeking to extend his term.

(Additional reporting by Mario Naranjo, Javier Lopez and Sean Mattson in Tegucigalpa and Antonio de la Jara in Santiago; Editing by Kieran Murray)

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