MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

November elections, rapidly becoming the silent option for Honduras crisis

Oscar Arias and time hold the clue for a democratic Honduras

Four of Honduras six presidential candidates have coincided that the coming November 29 elections are the best solution to the serious political crisis faced by the country since the constitutional president Manuel Zelaya was ousted in a midnight military and civilian coup at the end of June.

The candidates travelled to meet with Costa Rican president Oscar Arias, the official mediator in the crisis, and who is expected to try and convince them that they should agree on the return of Manuel Zelaya to office.

President Arias has the support of the international community, the Organization of American States, OAS and from Washington to mediate and try and convince all sides that Mr. Zelaya must be reinstated before any further political decisions are taken.

Elvin Santos, candidate for the ruling Liberal Party said before travelling to San Jose de Costa Rica that he was taking institutional and legal documentation supporting the fact that national elections following on the electoral calendar, are an isolated event from the ousting of Zelaya.

Porfirio Lobo from the National Party, the main opposition force said he was travelling with an open mind and the determination to contribute to all possible spaces of dialogue with the paramount purpose on ensuring peace to Honduras.

The most favourable and less traumatic exit to the current crisis is free elections, according to calendar, “with the greatest possible number of international and regional observers to ensure transparency and equal conditions for all candidate”, said Lobo.

Provisional president Roberto Micheletti and the regime he heads, increasingly isolated internationally, said the does not believe Honduras “will be invaded by other countries”, but if it happens, he would give orders “for not one shot to be fired”, since we do not want any bloodshed in Honduras.

However he promised to combat all armed groups intent in imposing terror practices among the civilian population.

Honduras is located in Central America and one of the poorest countries of Latinamerica is undergoing a constitutional crisis since June 28 when Zelaya was ousted and flown out of the country to Costa Rica.

Elected by the conservative Liberal party, Zelaya became increasingly closer to Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez and attempted to hold a non binding referendum on constitutional reform.

The country’s Congress and the Supreme Court had deemed the plebiscite unconstitutional and prohibited the execution of such poll. The Armed Forces arrested Zelaya, at his home, on the morning of 28 June 2009, the date of the scheduled vote, which the military chief had refused to coordinate on orders of the country's Supreme Court. He was later flown in pajamas to Costa Rica.

Roberto Micheletti, the former President of the Honduran Congress and a member of the same party as Zelaya, was sworn in as President by the National Congress on the afternoon of Sunday 28 June for a term that ends on 27 January 2010.