Lobo wins Honduras presidency vote
Opposition candidate wins vote condemned by ousted president and his supporters.
Porfirio Lobo, a right-wing businessman and rancher, has been declared the president-elect of Honduras in a vote held after months of tensions following the overthrow of Manuel Zelaya in a military-led coup.
Roberto Micheletti took over as interim president in June, claiming that Zelaya was trying to change the constitution to allow him to stay in power. The coup saw thousands of supporters on both sides take to the streets – while the two men tried to negotiate a peaceful outcome.
Neither Zelaya nor Micheletti stood in Sunday’s presidential vote, which pitted Lobo against Elvin Santos, Zelaya’s former vice-president.
In South America, eight countries – including Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela – have said that they will not recognise the outcome of the poll. Peru and Colombia, both close allies of the United States, have indicated that they will.
In Central America, Panama and Costa Rica say they will recognise the vote although Mexico has not made its position clear.
The decision by the US to support the vote’s result has infuriated Zelaya’s supporters, who say that Washington has backtracked on its previous statements condemning the coup.
From Tegucigalpa, Lucia Newman reports.