MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Zelaya and Micheletti agree to deal to end the institutional crisis

The ousted president must still work out an understanding with Honduras Supreme Court and Congress

The de facto Honduran government has agreed to an eight point deal that may allow ousted President Manuel Zelaya to return to power ahead of elections next month. Unite States diplomats have been in the country to mediate an end to the four-month-old crisis.

De facto President Roberto Micheletti unveiled the plan late Thursday, nearly four months after he took over for ousted President Manuel Zelaya. Since then, Micheletti has rejected calls from Zelaya and many foreign governments to restore the ousted leader to power, saying the Supreme Court had stripped Zelaya of power for violating the Honduran constitution.

Now after several weeks of negotiations, Micheletti said his government was making a significant concession to open the door to Zelaya's return.

He said the government has been clear that the Supreme Court must decide whether to allow Mr. Zelaya to return to power. He added officials understand that Hondurans want peace and an end to the crisis.

Under the deal, the Supreme Court must authorize the Congress to vote on whether to allow Mr. Zelaya to return to power and serve the remaining three months of his term. It also calls for a commission to investigate the events surrounding Mr. Zelaya's removal from office.

Ousted Zelaya, who has been living in the Brazilian embassy for the past month, told reporters the deal was a triumph for Honduran democracy.

Earlier this month, diplomats from the Organization of American States, OAS, launched a set of talks aimed at resolving the crisis between Mr. Zelaya and the de facto government. The OAS, along with the US and other governments, had warned they would not recognize the outcome of November elections unless a deal was reached.

This week, a team of US diplomats, including Under Secretary for Hemispheric affairs Thomas Shannon arrived in Honduras to make a final push for resolution, as preparations for the vote get underway.

US officials have suspended millions of dollars in aid to Honduras in response to the political crisis. After announcing the deal, de facto president Micheletti called on the United States and other foreign nations to reverse the economic penalties.

Honduran presidential elections are scheduled for November 29th and public opinion polls indicated that although there’s a strong division among supporters and non supporters of Mr. Zelaya, an overwhelming majority wants to get over the crisis and go to the polling booths.