Word: zelaya
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...would be great if a presidential election could magically transport the small, impoverished Central American nation beyond the political crisis that has gripped it since the June 28 coup. But unless Zelaya is restored to office before next week's balloting, which looks extremely unlikely, the international community is poised to brand the vote illegitimate. Instead, the election will confirm that Honduras has slipped back into the political chicanery and military meddling that typified the 1970s and '80s. "You can't use an election to clean the slate after a coup," says Christopher Sabatini, senior policy director at the Council...
...holds his handy lead in the polls, Porfirio (Pepe) Lobo will be the next President of Honduras. Problem is, the last man elected to that office, Manuel Zelaya, was ousted last summer in a military coup. That makes it unlikely that any nation - except maybe the U.S. - will recognize Lobo if he wins the Nov. 29 election. But as he relaxes in his opulent house near Honduras' capital Tegucigalpa after a day of campaigning, Lobo sounds unfazed. "I practice Taekwondo for serenity," he says with his trademark Cheshire cat smile. "We have to hold this election, and the world...
...Honduran streets, people expressed mixed feelings about the vote. Shopkeeper Nelson Hernandez said he had liked Zelaya but now intends to cast his ballot for Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo, the center-right timber magnate who is leading the polls. "We need security in this country and I think Pepe can give us that," he said. In second place is businessman Elvin Santos, who is a member of Zelaya's Liberal Party but is a vocal critic of the ousted president. (Zelaya himself could not run even if he was in power, as presidents are restricted to one term.) Three other candidates...
...Others said they would stay at home for safety. Honduras is far calmer than in first weeks following the coup, when soldiers and police fought pitched battles with protesters and a curfew locked down the country at night. The pro-Zelaya marches of tens of thousands have dissipated, leaving only a few hundred die-hard supporters chanting in the central plaza. But many people are wary that with the election, violence will flare again. And a steady stream of bombs, while causing no deaths, have been found outside government buildings, on buses and even in the walls of school houses...
...officials insist the polls will be safe and are using regular TV bulletins to urge people to vote. All sides say the turnout will be a key factor in legitimizing the government, with leading candidate Lobo promising that participation will be higher than it is in American elections, while Zelaya predicts turnout will be the lowest in Honduran history. While calling for voters to stay away, the ousted president also voices concern for his own future. Although he still has a slim chance of being brought back to power before the newly elected president takes office in January, he confronts...