Honduras update
Honduras: Zelaya Says He Will Reject Deal Legitimizing Election – 16 November 0900

Ousted president Manuel Zelaya said on Saturday that he would reject any deal to restore him to office if it means he must recognize presidential and congressional elections set for 29 November. Zelaya’s statement puts him at odds with the Obama administration, which has said that it would recognize the elections if an accord reached on 30 October between Zelaya and the interim government were implemented. The accord called for Zelaya’s return to the presidency at the helm of a unity government and with restricted powers, but it did not set a deadline.

The terms of the accord called for its approval by the Honduran Congress, which, reluctant to restore Zelaya to office, has been dragging its feet. It has sought an opinion from the Supreme Court, which in turn has referred the matter to a commission of five justices, who may announce their decision Wednesday. The Supreme Court, it should be noted, ordered the military to oust Zelaya on 28 June. He returned to Tegucigalpa surreptitiously on September and has been holed up at the Brazilian Embassy.

It is doubtful that the accord will be approved before the election, though Congress may act shortly before the new president is inaugurated in January, thus awarding Zelaya a very short period in office. The ousted president’s new stance, however, may render the whole question moot.

It is not clear what position Washington would take if the accord eventually were implemented and Zelaya refused to return to office. Panamanian president Roberto Martinelli, a conservative, already has said that his country will recognize the new president, with or without Zelaya’s restoration, thus opening a crack in what had been the Organization of American States (OAS) solid insistence on the reversal of his ouster.