MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Zelaya still president for 46% of Hondurans according to poll

US Ambassador Anselem does not discard legitimacy of November election

A relative majority of Hondurans consider ousted Manuel Zelaya as their president compared to the head of de facto government Roberto Micheletti, according to the latest public opinion poll from CID-Gallup released this week in Tegucigalpa.

However an overwhelming 75% believe that November presidential elections will help overcome the political crisis that erupted when the Zelaya at gunpoint was ousted and flown to neighbouring Costa Rica by the military, following orders from the Supreme Court.

The poll shows 42% of Honduras supporting Zelaya president; 36% Roberto Micheletti de facto president and 18% rejecting both leaders. As to Micheletti’s attitude as head of the de facto government, 14% said he did “what was right for the people”; 22%, “some times” and 59% “few times or never” did he do what was right for the people.

Regarding the Honduran political calendar November 29 presidential election, 75% said they will help solve the political crisis while 21% feel they “will not help at all”.

As to the standing of ousted President Zelaya, currently holed in at the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa, 23% of interviews said he “always did what was good for the people”; 37% said “almost always” and 38%, “few times or never”.

However the possibility of reinstating Zelaya was supported by 47% of interviews while 49% are against him returning to office as he is demanding in the current negotiations to find a way out to the critical situation.

Zelaya ranks fourth among recent acknowledged political figures in Honduras behind former president Carlos Flores (1998/2002); opposition candidate Porfirio Lobo and ex president Ricardo Maduro (1994/1998), but Micheletti only figures in position twelve.

The CID-Gallup poll was done between October 13/19 including 1.420 interviews of adults (over 18) with a margin error of plus/minus 2.8 percentage points.

The poll has been released when crucial negotiations are taking place in Tegucigalpa between the teams of Zelaya and Micheletti, sponsored by the OAS, but now reinforced by the presence of top officials from the US State Department.

US Ambassador before OAS Lewis Amselem said that the coming elections in Honduras should not be “pre-judged” before examining the conditions under which they will be held.

“That OAS brushes aside the results of the coming election without examining conditions under which they will take place would represent an abuse of Honduras right to self-determination”, said Ambassador Amselem before the OAS standing council.

Anselem position follows statements from Venezuela, Brazil and Nicaragua rejecting the possibility of legitimizing the November elections unless Zelaya is reinstated. “OAS responsibility is to take positive steps to help restore democracy in Honduras”.

“We need solutions not threats”, said ambassador Amselem. The US official position so far has been that conditions for free and fair elections in Honduras is missing. However it seems that there’s a slight change in attitude towards both leaders. The US State Department has been demanding “flexibility” from both sides in the negotiations.