The vote in Honduras
The WSJ reports on Honduras:
Neither of the two men claiming to be president during the past five months — Mr. Zelaya and interim President Roberto Micheletti — was on the ballot. The vote hands power to Mr. Lobo, a conservative rancher who was narrowly beaten by Mr. Zelaya four years ago. “It’s going to be Pepe this time,” said Higenio Garcia Ponce, an agricultural laborer who said he had just voted for Mr. Lobo. “There was a rupture in the Liberal Party over what happened with Zelaya.”…
The results gave Mr. Lobo 56% of the vote, well ahead of Liberal Party candidate Elvin Santos at 38%, confirming voters’ expected punishment of the Liberals — party of both the deposed president and the interim government that ousted him…
About 61% of Hondurans voted, and turnout, which was up from 2005, was seen as a crucial factor in persuading more countries to back the vote. The turnout was a loss for Mr. Zelaya, who had urged supporters to boycott the election. After the vote, Mr. Zelaya condemned the elections on CNN saying: “Absenteeism triumphed….These elections don’t correct the coup d’etat.”
You will recall that the Obama administration initially (and mistakenly) took the side of Zelaya before adult supervision showed up.
December 1st, 2009 at 9:34 am
The election held under a state of siege. Very democratic it was. No observers of any repute to verify that the election was honest. What is it about the ruling families of Honduras and the Negroponte Constitution there drafted under military rule that has led to such passionate defence by so many in the blogosphere and in the media in general? What has the Honduran elite done for you?