TEGUCIGALPA — The camp of deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya called Tuesday for the cancellation of elections held under the regime which backed his June 28 ouster, and Zelaya's immediate reinstatement.
"The elections have to be cancelled. We're demanding the restoration of democratic order," top Zelaya aide Carlos Reina told journalists shortly after exiting the Brazilian embassy, where he had been for 72 days with the ousted leader.
Both sides in the five-month crisis appeared more determined to stick to their positions after Sunday's controversial polls, in which conservative Porfirio Lobo claimed victory.
Lobo says he will seek to form a national unity government in an attempt to overcome deep rifts in the impoverished and polarized nation.
Reina said Lobo had not made any attempt to talk to Zelaya, who was ousted after critics said he acted against the constitution and tried to illegally extend term limits.
Zelaya "accepts no dialogue with the de facto government which aims to whitewash the coup," Reina added.
Reina said Zelaya sought to complete his four-year term, including the time lost since the military packed him away in his pajamas in June.
Following a crisis agreement, which Zelaya has rejected as invalid, Congress was Wednesday to vote on Zelaya's brief reinstatement until his term expires in January.
Reina called for protests outside the congress and disputed its authority to decide on Zelaya's fate, after having backed his ouster in the first place.
Sunday's vote has bitterly divided the Americas, pitting the United States, which supported it as a first step out of the crisis, against regional powerhouse Brazil.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva warned Tuesday that cooperating with Lobo would pose a "serious threat" to democracy in Latin America.
Critics see Zelaya's reinstatement as a possible way out of the five-month crisis, and a way to add legitimacy to Lobo's presidency.
Zelaya's bitter rival de facto Roberto Micheletti, who stepped down briefly during the election, has said he will return to the helm of the country on Wednesday.
Hundreds of Zelaya supporters drove across the Honduran capital late Monday in a noisy protest to reject the elections, for which they said turnout figures, of more than 60 percent, had been inflated.
Rights groups said the elections were marred by the lack of international consensus, and slammed a military crackdown on journalists and activists since the coup.
Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jNfOTp_WuO_XJEkdqKNqpnkxYjsw
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