MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Honduras Supreme Court supports Zelaya’s ousting procedure

Congress is scheduled to vote on the reinstatement issue next December 2

Honduras Supreme Court apparently has supported the ousting of deposed President Manuel Zelaya according to judicial sources which makes his reinstatement highly improbable.

The Court will not make its decision public but sources from the judicial branch and solicitors close to the case said that the Court supports previous resolutions and arguments used to oust the president.

The ruling explains the “legal procedure followed for the presidential succession last June 28th” when Zelaya was taken out of the country at gun point by the military in what described at the time as the bloodless “pyjama coup”.

The opinion of the Supreme Court will be forwarded to the Honduran Congress which has scheduled to vote December 2 on the issue, whether to reinstate or not ousted president Zelaya, following on Sunday’s general election.

Zelaya allegedly was ousted (by the military on other government branches orders) because he was trying to promote a referendum on the possibility of a constitutional reform, which according to his critics was directed to promote presidential re-election.

Zelaya argues that Congress, the Supreme Court and the military conspired to have him removed from office in what was a clear, undisputed coup

The ousted president who since last September took refuge in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa signed last month an understanding with the de facto government of Roberto Micheletti which contemplated the Congressional vote on his reinstatement.

However Zelaya later claimed the agreement was “dead” since the creation of a national unity transition government as was scheduled, failed, and has since said he would not accept an agreement for his reinstatement which means the legitimization of the coup and de facto government of Micheletti.

Sunday’s election has become a contentious diplomatic issue since originally it was agreed by the international community (particularly the US and OAS, Organization of American States) that the Honduras situation had to be reversed to June 28th, including the reinstatement of Mr. Zelaya.

However since then Washington has come to support holding Sunday’s presidential election since this would mean “a start from zero” and acknowledgement of the Honduran electoral calendar.

However Brazil and most of Latinamerican countries feel it is inappropriate in light of the fact that much of the world have labelled the political crisis a coup and the original commitment was that election results would not be legitimate “until Mr. Zelaya situation had been decided” by the country’s Supreme Court and Congress.