30-11-2009, 10:01 PM
Honduras elects Porfirio Lobo as new president
Rival Elvin Santos concedes defeat as ousted president, Manuel Zelaya, declares vote illegitimate
[URL="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2009/nov/30/honduras"]
[/URL]
![[Image: Porfirio-Lobo-001.jpg]](http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2009/11/30/1259567292707/Porfirio-Lobo-001.jpg)
The president-elect of Honduras, Porfirio Lobo, addresses supporters in Tegucigalpa. Photograph: Claudia Barrientos/AFP/Getty Images
A wealthy rancher was due to be declared Honduras's new president today after a tumultuous election dogged by the overthrow of his predecessor.
Preliminary results gave Porfirio Lobo 56% of votes, prompting cavalcades of cheering, honking supporters in the streets of the capital, Tegucigalpa. His nearest rival, Elvin Santos of the ruling Liberal party, conceded defeat.
Lobo, from the centre-right National party, promised to unify a country polarised by the military-led coup against Manuel Zelaya in June, a political shock which rattled Latin America and left Honduras isolated and stripped of aid and investment.
"We are very happy. Now we can get things back to normal," said Luis Fernando Gomez, 37, a business graduate, at a boisterous campaign victory party.
The Supreme Electoral Tribunal said 61% of registered voters cast ballots, a big jump from the barely half who voted in the 2005 election won by Zelaya. Local media, which backed the coup, hailed a "historic" turnout.
Before results were announced, the United States, Panama and Peru signalled they would accept the election as a way out of the crisis. Canada and the European Union are expected to follow suit.
But critics said the election was neither free nor fair and had whitewashed the coup. Leftist governments including those of Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador and Venezuela said they would not recognise the vote, branding it a farce which could embolden coup-minded conservative forces across the region.
Zelaya, who was not on the ballot, had called for a boycott. After polls closed he said information from a quarter of polling stations indicated only around 35% voted. "As president of Honduras I declare this process illegitimate," he said.
In the absence of established international observer groups, who shunned the election, it was difficult to verify the turnout independently. Officials at polling centres visited by the Guardian gave estimates ranging from just 30% in poor areas to as high as 70% in wealthier ones.
"I voted because we need a way out of this crisis," said Yesenia Ramos, 31, showing a green-stained finger outside a polling station in Cementerio, a slum in Tegucigalpa. "My brother has lost his job, businesses are closing. We've all been affected."
Metres away, in a stark illustration of Honduras' extreme poverty, several men foraged for food on a mound of putrid, fly-blown rubbish. "Vote? Give me a break, it'll change nothing," said Luis Alvarado, 44.
Voting was mostly peaceful but security forces used teargas and batons to break up a demonstration in the city of San Pedro Sula. A day earlier they raided the offices of pro-Zelaya groups, saying they were looking for weapons and evidence linked to small homemade bombs which had damaged polling centres.
In recent weeks the de facto authorities curbed civil liberties and cracked down on critical media and Zelaya supporters, leaving hundreds injured and detained and at least 10 reportedly killed. Amnesty International demanded that the identities and whereabouts of people arrested yesterday be revealed.
Zelaya, a wealthy logger-turned leftist populist, was seized and exiled on 28 June after congress, the army, the supreme court and his own party objected to his deepening alliance with Venezuela's socialist president, Hugo Chávez. They accused Zelaya of plotting to extend his rule, a charge he denied.
The election date and candidates were chosen long before the coup. The de facto president, Roberto Micheletti, was not on the ballot. A pro-Zelaya candidate withdrew, leaving the field dominated by candidates from the traditional ruling elite.
Lobo, 61, a veteran congressman who is known by the nickname Pepe, hinted that criminal charges against Zelaya would be dropped and appealed to foreign governments to recognise his mandate once he was sworn in on 27 January.
"We are prepared to approach them and ask them to understand that there is a government which was elected, that it is the precise will of Hondurans at the ballot box, that it is a democracy and we should all respect the leadership of countries."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov...-president
Rival Elvin Santos concedes defeat as ousted president, Manuel Zelaya, declares vote illegitimate
[URL="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2009/nov/30/honduras"]
[/URL]
- Rory Carroll in Tegucigalpa
- guardian.co.uk, Monday 30 November 2009 07.51 GMT
The president-elect of Honduras, Porfirio Lobo, addresses supporters in Tegucigalpa. Photograph: Claudia Barrientos/AFP/Getty ImagesA wealthy rancher was due to be declared Honduras's new president today after a tumultuous election dogged by the overthrow of his predecessor.
Preliminary results gave Porfirio Lobo 56% of votes, prompting cavalcades of cheering, honking supporters in the streets of the capital, Tegucigalpa. His nearest rival, Elvin Santos of the ruling Liberal party, conceded defeat.
Lobo, from the centre-right National party, promised to unify a country polarised by the military-led coup against Manuel Zelaya in June, a political shock which rattled Latin America and left Honduras isolated and stripped of aid and investment.
"We are very happy. Now we can get things back to normal," said Luis Fernando Gomez, 37, a business graduate, at a boisterous campaign victory party.
The Supreme Electoral Tribunal said 61% of registered voters cast ballots, a big jump from the barely half who voted in the 2005 election won by Zelaya. Local media, which backed the coup, hailed a "historic" turnout.
Before results were announced, the United States, Panama and Peru signalled they would accept the election as a way out of the crisis. Canada and the European Union are expected to follow suit.
But critics said the election was neither free nor fair and had whitewashed the coup. Leftist governments including those of Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador and Venezuela said they would not recognise the vote, branding it a farce which could embolden coup-minded conservative forces across the region.
Zelaya, who was not on the ballot, had called for a boycott. After polls closed he said information from a quarter of polling stations indicated only around 35% voted. "As president of Honduras I declare this process illegitimate," he said.
In the absence of established international observer groups, who shunned the election, it was difficult to verify the turnout independently. Officials at polling centres visited by the Guardian gave estimates ranging from just 30% in poor areas to as high as 70% in wealthier ones.
"I voted because we need a way out of this crisis," said Yesenia Ramos, 31, showing a green-stained finger outside a polling station in Cementerio, a slum in Tegucigalpa. "My brother has lost his job, businesses are closing. We've all been affected."
Metres away, in a stark illustration of Honduras' extreme poverty, several men foraged for food on a mound of putrid, fly-blown rubbish. "Vote? Give me a break, it'll change nothing," said Luis Alvarado, 44.
Voting was mostly peaceful but security forces used teargas and batons to break up a demonstration in the city of San Pedro Sula. A day earlier they raided the offices of pro-Zelaya groups, saying they were looking for weapons and evidence linked to small homemade bombs which had damaged polling centres.
In recent weeks the de facto authorities curbed civil liberties and cracked down on critical media and Zelaya supporters, leaving hundreds injured and detained and at least 10 reportedly killed. Amnesty International demanded that the identities and whereabouts of people arrested yesterday be revealed.
Zelaya, a wealthy logger-turned leftist populist, was seized and exiled on 28 June after congress, the army, the supreme court and his own party objected to his deepening alliance with Venezuela's socialist president, Hugo Chávez. They accused Zelaya of plotting to extend his rule, a charge he denied.
The election date and candidates were chosen long before the coup. The de facto president, Roberto Micheletti, was not on the ballot. A pro-Zelaya candidate withdrew, leaving the field dominated by candidates from the traditional ruling elite.
Lobo, 61, a veteran congressman who is known by the nickname Pepe, hinted that criminal charges against Zelaya would be dropped and appealed to foreign governments to recognise his mandate once he was sworn in on 27 January.
"We are prepared to approach them and ask them to understand that there is a government which was elected, that it is the precise will of Hondurans at the ballot box, that it is a democracy and we should all respect the leadership of countries."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov...-president
"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it." Karl Marx
"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.
"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.