After hours of debate Honduras’ legislature decided not to permit ousted president Manuel Zelaya to finish his term in office.Of the 126 members of Congress at least 64 MPs voted against reinstating Zelaya whose presidency officially ends next month with a mere ten legislators voting for reinstatement. Furthermore, the office of Honduras’ Attorney General concluded that it would be “inadmissible and inacceptable” to return the leader who was forcefully exiled last June.
While dozens of Zelaya backers protested outside the congressional building, the expelled leader remained defiant:
Mr. Zelaya, who was ousted in June, had told the BBC that he would refuse reinstatement because he did not want "to legitimize a coup"…
Speaking to BBC Mundo from inside the Brazilian embassy where he took refuge in September, he said: "Will the elections change the military leadership that conducted the coup that ousted me? It remains the same. Will the elections change the composition of the Supreme Court that issued an arrest warrant [against me] without due cause? It remains the same," Mr. Zelaya said.
Conservative Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo became president-elect on Sunday in elections that have not received full international recognition.
Image- Al Jazeera English
Online Sources- AFP, Hondudiario, El Heraldo, Xinhua, BBC News, The Latin Americanist
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