Honduran general election, 2009
Encyclopedia
The Honduran general election, 2009 was held in Honduras
on 29 November 2009, including presidential, parliamentary and local elections. Voters went to the polls to elect:
The possibility of having a "fourth ballot box
" (Spanish: cuarta urna) at the 29 November election regarding the convocation of a National Constituent Assembly
constituted a major element of the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis.
(ouster of president Manuel Zelaya
) occurred, bringing the legitimacy of the elections into doubt.
Campaigning by candidates took place, in principle for the three months prior to 29 November, in the context of the conflict between the de facto government, the de jure government, and resistance to the de facto government, mostly coordinated by the National Resistance Front against the coup d'état in Honduras
.
Nearly one month of this campaign period was covered by the Micheletti de facto government Decree PCM-M-016-2009, signed on 22 September 2009 and rescinded on 19 October 2009. The decree suspended five constitutional rights
: personal liberty (Article 69), freedom of expression (Article 72), freedom of movement
(Article 81), habeas corpus
(Article 84) and freedom of association
.
Hundreds of candidates, including Presidential candidate Carlos H. Reyes, renounced their candidacy citing skepticism that the same military that overthew the elected president could be trusted to run a free and fair election five months later.
Amnesty International
protested to the Honduran de facto government about the violation of habeas corpus
on 28 and 29 November. One of the people who were disappeared
was Jensys Mario Umanzor Gutierrez, last seen in police detention early on the morning of 30 November. Amnesty International (AI) stated that no courts, including the Supreme Court, were available to receive a petition for habeas corpus. AI also referred to two men arrested under terrorism charges and beaten, and 14 minors detained under decree PCM-M-016-2009 for having been gathered in groups of more than four persons, and later freed without charges. AI also said that human rights organizations in Honduras "suffered attacks and acts of intimidation".
On election day, police and military suppressed an anti-election rally in San Pedro Sula
, with reports of one death plus injuries and arrests. There were also reports that employees of government agencies and private businesses were being told that they would be fired if they did not vote.
The European Parliament
did not send obsevers. However, observers were sent by the centre-right European People's Party, who reported a "high degree of civic maturity and exemplar democratic behaviour" during the elections.
and former vice-president
Elvin Santos
of the Liberal Party
. The trade union leader and Garifuna leader, Bernard Martínez Valerio
is the Innovation and Unity Party
(PINU) candidate. Martínez is the first black presidential candidate in the history of Honduras, according to PINU. Another trade union
leader Carlos Humberto Reyes
, one of the coordinators of the Frente Nacional de Resistencia Contra el Golpe de Estado en Honduras
, was an independent candidate for the election until he formally withdrew in order not to legitimise the coup d'état and what he and his supporters perceived would be fraudulent elections.
The table below shows all six continuing and withdrawn candidates, in the order published by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.
held 23–29 August 2009 by COIMER & OP showed a relative majority (41%) who would not declare a voting preference or would not vote in favour of any of the six candidates. By mid-October this had dropped to a minority (29%) according to a CID-Gallup poll. Porfirio Lobo's support increased from 28% in August to 37% in October, and Elvin Santos' support increased from 14% to 21%. According to the two polls, Carlos H. Reyes' support dropped from 12% to 6%, while the other three candidates increased from 1–2% support in August to 2–3% in October. A popularity rating question in the COIMER & OP August poll, concerning positive, average and negative opinions towards presidential candidates and other prominent people, found that Porfirio Lobo had more negative than positive popularity (34% versus 30%), as did Elvin Santos (45% versus 19%) and the de facto President Roberto Micheletti (56% versus 16%) and César Ham (20% versus 16%). Carlos H. Reyes had more positive than negative ratings (25% versus 14%), as did de jure President Manuel Zelaya (45% versus 26%).
was elected to succeed Micheletti. Early reports gave Lobo over 50% of the popular vote, with Elvin Santos
the closest opponent with around 35%. While some regional nations did not accept the election as valid, others including the United States
have supported its legitimacy. While exiled President Manuel Zelaya
called for a boycott of the election, turnout ranged from around 30% in poorer areas to 70% in more wealthy communities. Lobo previously served in the Honduran Congress. He has hinted that charges against Zelaya will be dropped.
Despite few outside legal observers, the International Republican Institute (IRI -which, months before June 28 had predicted approvingly that Honduras would be fertile place for a coup d'état in an online video entitled "Good governance in Honduras"]) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI- members of which can be seen in a video below refusing to acknowledge police violence against peaceful demonstrators they were witnesses to on election day) were there as American observers. The IRI supported the projections of 61% from the interim government and the Supreme Electoral Tribunal. The NDI has so far not commented on their projection of the vote turnout, however have commented on an independent, local Honduran observer part-funded by USAID, the Hagamos Democracia who put the turnout on 48%. The NDI commented that they had a low margin of error on what percentage of the votes were allocated to the candidates as they had successfully projected the vote's outcome: 56 percent for Lobo and 38 percent for Santos. He also said a 48 percent turnout would be consistent with a trend of increasing abstention in Honduras. Turnout was 55 percent in the 2005 election that brought Zelaya to office, 10 percentage points lower than in the previous election. Official turnout was revised down to 49%, a figure consistent with the TSE's own internal figures on election day but over which it had preferred to announce the entirely unfounded but rather more politically convenient 61%, as was caught on video at the time. 49% incidentally, is also a decline on the 55% 2005 election turnout.
, Marvin Ponce of the Democratic Unification Party
, and Bertha Oliva of Comité de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Honduras
, and internationally, including Mercosur
, President Cristina Kirchner
of Argentina
and
the Union of South American Nations, said that elections held on 29 November under Micheletti would not be recognized.
on 1 December to symbolise their rejection of the elections and to highlight that the turnout estimates of over 60% were inaccurate. Zelaya's aide Carlos Reina called for the elections to be cancelled.
In early November 2009, Dagoberto Suazo of the National Resistance Front against the coup d'État in Honduras
asked for the international community to continue to refuse to recognise the planned 29 November elections. Marvin Ponce, a member of Congress from the Democratic Unification Party
, said that it was not possible to hold the elections in the aftermath of the coup d'état. Bertha Oliva of COFADEH
criticised the United States
government for stating that Honduras could hold "free elections in less than three weeks" when "Hondurans [were being] subjected to arbitrary arrest, the closure of independent media, police beatings, torture and even killings by security forces". Oliva claimed that it was not possible to have an election campaign when the right to freedom of assembly
, freedom of movement
and press freedom were absent. She called for elections to be delayed until at least three months after human rights and democracy are restored.
On 6 November 2009, following the failure of Micheletti and Zelaya to together create a "unity cabinet", Zelaya called for a boycott
of the 29 November election.
On 9 November 2009, following a national meeting of leaders of the National Resistance Front against the coup d'état
, presidential candidate Carlos H. Reyes declared the withdrawal of his candidacy, on the grounds of not legitimising the coup d'état and fraudulent elections. At the time of Reyes' withdrawal, the Honduran newspapers El Tiempo and La Tribuna showed Reyes' right hand in a plaster cast due to an injury sustained during his 30 July beating by Honduran security forces under the control of the de facto Micheletti government. At least 30–40 candidates from various parties and independent candidates, including at least one National Party candidate, Mario Medrano in San Manuel, Cortés, also withdraw in protest. Mario Medrano stated that he withdrew his candidature in order not to legitimise the coup d'état, that this was independent of party membership, and that anyone elected could be removed [if the coup d'état remained legitimate].
Canadian investigative journalist Jesse Freeston
released a series of three videos before and after the elections them of being "coup laundering". In the final video, "Honduran Elections Exposed", Freeston separately interviews two members of the Honduran Supreme Electoral Tribunal. The engineer in charge of the count says that 49% of Hondurans had turned out to vote. Meanwhile, the spokesman for the tribunal told Freeston that roughly 65% had turned out. Freeston concludes that nobody knows how many Hondurans turned out, since all four major international election observers (UN, EU, Carter Center
, and OAS
) all refused to participate. The videos also exposed the police attack on an anti-election protest in San Pedro Sula
, the arrest of a man for posesssion of anti-election posters in Tegucigalpa
, a letter the military sent to all the mayors in Honduras seeking contact information of anyone involved in the National People's Resistance Front, the shutting down of anti-coup media outlets Radio Globo
and Canal 36
, and the targeted assassinations of anti-coup community organizers.
declared on 24 July 2009 that it would not recognise the results of the planned November elections or any other elections organised under Micheletti. President Cristina Kirchner
of Argentina
stated, "We must condemn any benevolent coup attempt, that is, when through a civilian-military coup legitimate authorities are ousted followed by attempts to legalize the situation by calling new elections. This would be the death kiss for the OAS democratic charter
and turning the Mercosur democratic charter in mere fiction". On 10 August, the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) also declared that it would not recognise the results of elections held while the de facto Micheletti government remained in power. On 17 August, President Felipe Calderón
of Mexico
, together with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
, made a similar statement. On September 3, the US State Department issued a statement revoking all non-humanitarian assistance to Honduras and said, of the November 29 elections "At this moment, we would not be able to support the outcome of the scheduled elections".
The U.S. has since changed position and announced that it will recognize the results of the election as a part of the San Jose-Tegucigalpa Accord.
In the days preceding the elections, Israel
, Italy
, Colombia
, Panama
, Peru
, Germany
, Costa Rica
and Japan
also announced their intentions to recognize the results of the elections.
On 30 November at the 19th Ibero-American Summit
in Estoril
, Portugal
the governments of Argentina
, Bolivia
, Brazil
, Chile
, Cuba
, Ecuador
, Guatemala
, Nicaragua
, Paraguay
, Spain
, Uruguay
, and Venezuela
announced they are not recognizing the elections whereas Colombia
, Costa Rica
and Panama
expressed they will while the rest of the members did not give any response. On 8 December the five Mercosur member states once again ratified their decision of not recognizing the election of Porfirio Lobo.
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
on 29 November 2009, including presidential, parliamentary and local elections. Voters went to the polls to elect:
- A new President of HondurasPresident of HondurasThis page lists the Presidents of Honduras.Colonial Honduras declared its independence from Spain on 15 September 1821. From 5 January 1822 to 1 July 1823, Honduras was part of the First Mexican Empire of Agustín de Iturbide....
to serve a four-year term starting January 27, 2010. - 128 members to serve a four-year term in the National CongressNational Congress of HondurasThe National Congress is the legislative branch of the government of Honduras.The Honduran Congress is a unicameral legislature. The current President of the National Congress of Honduras is Juan Orlando Hernández. Its members are 128 deputies, who are elected on a proportional representation...
. - Representatives in municipal (local) governments.
The possibility of having a "fourth ballot box
Honduran fourth ballot box referendum
The cuarta urna or fourth ballot box referendum was a plan by Honduran president Manuel Zelaya to run a non-binding referendum to consult the public regarding the administration of a second, binding referendum to convoke a constitutional assembly, which was planned to be polled concurrently with...
" (Spanish: cuarta urna) at the 29 November election regarding the convocation of a National Constituent Assembly
Constituent assembly
A constituent assembly is a body composed for the purpose of drafting or adopting a constitution...
constituted a major element of the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis.
Campaigning
Preceding the planned November elections, the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis2009 Honduran constitutional crisis
The 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis was a political dispute over plans to rewrite the Constitution of Honduras, which culminated in a coup d'état against Honduran President Manuel Zelaya by the Honduran military...
(ouster of president Manuel Zelaya
Manuel Zelaya
José Manuel Zelaya Rosales is a politician who was President of Honduras from January 27, 2006 until June 28, 2009. The eldest son of a wealthy businessman, he inherited his father's nickname "Mel," and, before entering politics, was involved in his family's logging and timber businesses.Elected...
) occurred, bringing the legitimacy of the elections into doubt.
Campaigning by candidates took place, in principle for the three months prior to 29 November, in the context of the conflict between the de facto government, the de jure government, and resistance to the de facto government, mostly coordinated by the National Resistance Front against the coup d'état in Honduras
National Resistance Front (Honduras)
The National Popular Resistance Front or National People's Resistance Front , frequently referred to as the National Resistance Front, is a wide coalition of Honduran grassroots organisations and political parties and movements that aims to restore elected President Manuel Zelaya and hold a...
.
Nearly one month of this campaign period was covered by the Micheletti de facto government Decree PCM-M-016-2009, signed on 22 September 2009 and rescinded on 19 October 2009. The decree suspended five constitutional rights
Constitution of Honduras
The Political Constitution of the Republic of Honduras was approved on 11 January 1982, published on 20 January 1982, amended by the National Congress of Honduras 26 times from 1984 to 2005, and 10 interpretations by Congress were made from 1982 to 2005. It is Honduras' twelfth constitution since...
: personal liberty (Article 69), freedom of expression (Article 72), freedom of movement
Freedom of movement
Freedom of movement, mobility rights or the right to travel is a human right concept that the constitutions of numerous states respect...
(Article 81), habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
(Article 84) and freedom of association
Freedom of association
Freedom of association is the individual right to come together with other individuals and collectively express, promote, pursue and defend common interests....
.
Hundreds of candidates, including Presidential candidate Carlos H. Reyes, renounced their candidacy citing skepticism that the same military that overthew the elected president could be trusted to run a free and fair election five months later.
Election day
Over thirty thousand security personnel were involved in running the election, including 12,000 military, 14,000 police officers and 5000 reservists. Mayors were requested by the army to provide lists of "enemies" (Spanish: enemigos) of the electoral process in order to "neutralise" them (Spanish: neutralizarlos).Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
protested to the Honduran de facto government about the violation of habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
on 28 and 29 November. One of the people who were disappeared
Forced disappearance
In international human rights law, a forced disappearance occurs when a person is secretly abducted or imprisoned by a state or political organization or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organization, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the...
was Jensys Mario Umanzor Gutierrez, last seen in police detention early on the morning of 30 November. Amnesty International (AI) stated that no courts, including the Supreme Court, were available to receive a petition for habeas corpus. AI also referred to two men arrested under terrorism charges and beaten, and 14 minors detained under decree PCM-M-016-2009 for having been gathered in groups of more than four persons, and later freed without charges. AI also said that human rights organizations in Honduras "suffered attacks and acts of intimidation".
On election day, police and military suppressed an anti-election rally in San Pedro Sula
San Pedro Sula
San Pedro Sula is a city in Honduras. It is located in the northwest corner of the country, in the Valle de Sula , about 60 km south of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean. With an estimated population of 638,259 people in the main municipality, and 802,598 in its metro area , it is the second...
, with reports of one death plus injuries and arrests. There were also reports that employees of government agencies and private businesses were being told that they would be fired if they did not vote.
The European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
did not send obsevers. However, observers were sent by the centre-right European People's Party, who reported a "high degree of civic maturity and exemplar democratic behaviour" during the elections.
Presidential election
The candidates of the two main political parties are former presidential candidate Porfirio Lobo Sosa of the National PartyNational Party of Honduras
The National Party is a centre-right conservative political party in Honduras and the main right-wing political party in the country. Founded in 1902 the PNH is identified with the color blue as its rival the Liberal Party of Honduras , is red. All the democratic elections in Honduras have been...
and former vice-president
Vice President of Honduras
Vice President of Honduras is the second highest political position in Honduras. According to the current constitution, the President and Vice-President are elected in the same ticket...
Elvin Santos
Elvin Ernesto Santos
Elvin Ernesto Santos Ordóñez was Vice President of Honduras between 27 January 2006 and 18 November 2008, when he resigned to stand as a Liberal Party candidate for the Presidency in the 2009 elections. For the 2005 election the constitution was amended to create a single vice-president...
of the Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Honduras
The Liberal Party of Honduras is a centre-left liberal political party in Honduras that was founded in 1891. The party is a member of the Liberal International...
. The trade union leader and Garifuna leader, Bernard Martínez Valerio
Bernard Martínez Valerio
Bernard Martínez Valerio is trade union and Garifuna leader who was a candidate for the Innovation and Unity Party in the Honduran 2009 presidential election...
is the Innovation and Unity Party
Innovation and Unity Party
Innovation and Unity Party is a centre-left political party in Honduras, established in 1970. PINU was created by Miguel Andonie Fernández as a democratic, moderate left-wing alternative to the two major parties and the military régime.-2001 elections:...
(PINU) candidate. Martínez is the first black presidential candidate in the history of Honduras, according to PINU. Another trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
leader Carlos Humberto Reyes
Carlos Humberto Reyes
Carlos Humberto Reyes is leader of the trade union STIBYS in Honduras, a coordinator of the Frente Nacional de Resistencia contra el Golpe de Estado en Honduras and was an independent candidate for the 2009 Honduran presidential election before pulling out on November 9...
, one of the coordinators of the Frente Nacional de Resistencia Contra el Golpe de Estado en Honduras
National Resistance Front (Honduras)
The National Popular Resistance Front or National People's Resistance Front , frequently referred to as the National Resistance Front, is a wide coalition of Honduran grassroots organisations and political parties and movements that aims to restore elected President Manuel Zelaya and hold a...
, was an independent candidate for the election until he formally withdrew in order not to legitimise the coup d'état and what he and his supporters perceived would be fraudulent elections.
The table below shows all six continuing and withdrawn candidates, in the order published by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.
| Candidate | Party/Independent |
|---|---|
| Porfirio Lobo Sosa | National Party National Party of Honduras The National Party is a centre-right conservative political party in Honduras and the main right-wing political party in the country. Founded in 1902 the PNH is identified with the color blue as its rival the Liberal Party of Honduras , is red. All the democratic elections in Honduras have been... |
| Bernard Martínez Bernard Martínez Valerio Bernard Martínez Valerio is trade union and Garifuna leader who was a candidate for the Innovation and Unity Party in the Honduran 2009 presidential election... |
Innovation and Unity Party-Social-Democracy (PINU) |
| Felicito Ávila Felicito Ávila Felicito Ávila is a Honduran politician. He stood as a candidate for the Christian Democratic Party of Honduras in the Honduran general election, 2009.-References:... |
Christian Democrat Party Christian Democratic Party of Honduras The Christian Democratic Party of Honduras , known by the abbreviation DC, is a centre-left political party in Honduras.... (CD) |
| Elvin Santos Elvin Ernesto Santos Elvin Ernesto Santos Ordóñez was Vice President of Honduras between 27 January 2006 and 18 November 2008, when he resigned to stand as a Liberal Party candidate for the Presidency in the 2009 elections. For the 2005 election the constitution was amended to create a single vice-president... |
Liberal Party Liberal Party of Honduras The Liberal Party of Honduras is a centre-left liberal political party in Honduras that was founded in 1891. The party is a member of the Liberal International... |
| César Ham César Ham César David Adolfo Ham Peña is a Honduran politician. He is a leader of the socialist Democratic Unification Party and a member of Parliament... |
Democratic Unification Party Democratic Unification Party The Democratic Unification Party is a left-wing political party in Honduras. PUD was founded on 29 September 1992 by the merger of four leftist clandestine or semiclandestine political parties, in the context of the changed political situation in Central America at that period, following the end... (PUD) |
| Carlos H. Reyes Carlos Humberto Reyes Carlos Humberto Reyes is leader of the trade union STIBYS in Honduras, a coordinator of the Frente Nacional de Resistencia contra el Golpe de Estado en Honduras and was an independent candidate for the 2009 Honduran presidential election before pulling out on November 9... |
Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... (withdrew 9 November on grounds of alleged election illegitimacy and fraud) |
Pre-election polls
A pre-election pollOpinion poll
An opinion poll, sometimes simply referred to as a poll is a survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence...
held 23–29 August 2009 by COIMER & OP showed a relative majority (41%) who would not declare a voting preference or would not vote in favour of any of the six candidates. By mid-October this had dropped to a minority (29%) according to a CID-Gallup poll. Porfirio Lobo's support increased from 28% in August to 37% in October, and Elvin Santos' support increased from 14% to 21%. According to the two polls, Carlos H. Reyes' support dropped from 12% to 6%, while the other three candidates increased from 1–2% support in August to 2–3% in October. A popularity rating question in the COIMER & OP August poll, concerning positive, average and negative opinions towards presidential candidates and other prominent people, found that Porfirio Lobo had more negative than positive popularity (34% versus 30%), as did Elvin Santos (45% versus 19%) and the de facto President Roberto Micheletti (56% versus 16%) and César Ham (20% versus 16%). Carlos H. Reyes had more positive than negative ratings (25% versus 14%), as did de jure President Manuel Zelaya (45% versus 26%).
| polling organisation, [ref] | date | poll details | candidate | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Porfirio Lobo | Bernard Martínez Bernard Martínez Valerio Bernard Martínez Valerio is trade union and Garifuna leader who was a candidate for the Innovation and Unity Party in the Honduran 2009 presidential election... |
Felicito Ávila Felicito Ávila Felicito Ávila is a Honduran politician. He stood as a candidate for the Christian Democratic Party of Honduras in the Honduran general election, 2009.-References:... |
Elvin Santos Elvin Ernesto Santos Elvin Ernesto Santos Ordóñez was Vice President of Honduras between 27 January 2006 and 18 November 2008, when he resigned to stand as a Liberal Party candidate for the Presidency in the 2009 elections. For the 2005 election the constitution was amended to create a single vice-president... |
César Ham César Ham César David Adolfo Ham Peña is a Honduran politician. He is a leader of the socialist Democratic Unification Party and a member of Parliament... |
Carlos Reyes Carlos Humberto Reyes Carlos Humberto Reyes is leader of the trade union STIBYS in Honduras, a coordinator of the Frente Nacional de Resistencia contra el Golpe de Estado en Honduras and was an independent candidate for the 2009 Honduran presidential election before pulling out on November 9... (withdrew 9 Nov) |
(other response) | |||
| CID-Gallup | 13–19 October 2009 | national; 1420 people | 37% | 2% | 2% | 21% | 3% | 6% | 29% |
| COIMER & OP | 23–29 August 2009 | national; 1470 people | 28% | 1% | 1% | 14% | 2% | 12% | 41% |
| CID-Gallup | 30 June–4 July 2009 | national; 1204 people | 42% | – | – | 37% | – | – | – |
Results
Porfirio Lobo Sosa, popularly known as Pepe Lobo, of the opposition conservative National PartyNational Party of Honduras
The National Party is a centre-right conservative political party in Honduras and the main right-wing political party in the country. Founded in 1902 the PNH is identified with the color blue as its rival the Liberal Party of Honduras , is red. All the democratic elections in Honduras have been...
was elected to succeed Micheletti. Early reports gave Lobo over 50% of the popular vote, with Elvin Santos
Elvin Ernesto Santos
Elvin Ernesto Santos Ordóñez was Vice President of Honduras between 27 January 2006 and 18 November 2008, when he resigned to stand as a Liberal Party candidate for the Presidency in the 2009 elections. For the 2005 election the constitution was amended to create a single vice-president...
the closest opponent with around 35%. While some regional nations did not accept the election as valid, others including the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
have supported its legitimacy. While exiled President Manuel Zelaya
Manuel Zelaya
José Manuel Zelaya Rosales is a politician who was President of Honduras from January 27, 2006 until June 28, 2009. The eldest son of a wealthy businessman, he inherited his father's nickname "Mel," and, before entering politics, was involved in his family's logging and timber businesses.Elected...
called for a boycott of the election, turnout ranged from around 30% in poorer areas to 70% in more wealthy communities. Lobo previously served in the Honduran Congress. He has hinted that charges against Zelaya will be dropped.
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Porfirio Lobo Sosa | PN National Party of Honduras The National Party is a centre-right conservative political party in Honduras and the main right-wing political party in the country. Founded in 1902 the PNH is identified with the color blue as its rival the Liberal Party of Honduras , is red. All the democratic elections in Honduras have been... |
1,212,846 | 56.56 | President |
| Bernard Martínez Bernard Martínez Valerio Bernard Martínez Valerio is trade union and Garifuna leader who was a candidate for the Innovation and Unity Party in the Honduran 2009 presidential election... |
PINU | 39,950 | 1.86 | |
| Felicito Ávila Felicito Ávila Felicito Ávila is a Honduran politician. He stood as a candidate for the Christian Democratic Party of Honduras in the Honduran general election, 2009.-References:... |
PDC Christian Democratic Party of Honduras The Christian Democratic Party of Honduras , known by the abbreviation DC, is a centre-left political party in Honduras.... |
38,391 | 1.79 | |
| Elvin Santos Elvin Ernesto Santos Elvin Ernesto Santos Ordóñez was Vice President of Honduras between 27 January 2006 and 18 November 2008, when he resigned to stand as a Liberal Party candidate for the Presidency in the 2009 elections. For the 2005 election the constitution was amended to create a single vice-president... |
PL Liberal Party of Honduras The Liberal Party of Honduras is a centre-left liberal political party in Honduras that was founded in 1891. The party is a member of the Liberal International... |
816,874 | 38.1 | |
| César Ham César Ham César David Adolfo Ham Peña is a Honduran politician. He is a leader of the socialist Democratic Unification Party and a member of Parliament... |
PUD Democratic Unification Party The Democratic Unification Party is a left-wing political party in Honduras. PUD was founded on 29 September 1992 by the merger of four leftist clandestine or semiclandestine political parties, in the context of the changed political situation in Central America at that period, following the end... |
36,399 | 1.70 | |
| Valid votes | 1,980,724 | 100.00 | ||
| Null votes | 92,534 | 4.03 | ||
| Blank votes | 61,086 | 2.66 | ||
| Total votes | 2,298,080 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters | ~4.6 million | ~50% turnout | ||
Despite few outside legal observers, the International Republican Institute (IRI -which, months before June 28 had predicted approvingly that Honduras would be fertile place for a coup d'état in an online video entitled "Good governance in Honduras"]) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI- members of which can be seen in a video below refusing to acknowledge police violence against peaceful demonstrators they were witnesses to on election day) were there as American observers. The IRI supported the projections of 61% from the interim government and the Supreme Electoral Tribunal. The NDI has so far not commented on their projection of the vote turnout, however have commented on an independent, local Honduran observer part-funded by USAID, the Hagamos Democracia who put the turnout on 48%. The NDI commented that they had a low margin of error on what percentage of the votes were allocated to the candidates as they had successfully projected the vote's outcome: 56 percent for Lobo and 38 percent for Santos. He also said a 48 percent turnout would be consistent with a trend of increasing abstention in Honduras. Turnout was 55 percent in the 2005 election that brought Zelaya to office, 10 percentage points lower than in the previous election. Official turnout was revised down to 49%, a figure consistent with the TSE's own internal figures on election day but over which it had preferred to announce the entirely unfounded but rather more politically convenient 61%, as was caught on video at the time. 49% incidentally, is also a decline on the 55% 2005 election turnout.
Controversy
Organisations and individuals in Honduras, including the National Resistance Front against the coup d'État in HondurasNational Resistance Front (Honduras)
The National Popular Resistance Front or National People's Resistance Front , frequently referred to as the National Resistance Front, is a wide coalition of Honduran grassroots organisations and political parties and movements that aims to restore elected President Manuel Zelaya and hold a...
, Marvin Ponce of the Democratic Unification Party
Democratic Unification Party
The Democratic Unification Party is a left-wing political party in Honduras. PUD was founded on 29 September 1992 by the merger of four leftist clandestine or semiclandestine political parties, in the context of the changed political situation in Central America at that period, following the end...
, and Bertha Oliva of Comité de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Honduras
Comité de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Honduras
Committee of Relatives of the Disappeared in Honduras is a human rights NGO in Honduras founded in 1982 by 12 families of disappeared Hondurans, including Bertha Oliva de Nativí , whose husband Professor Tomás Nativí was disappeared in 1981.-Background:Honduras...
, and internationally, including Mercosur
Mercosur
Mercosur or Mercosul is an economic and political agreement among Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Founded in 1991 by the Treaty of Asunción, which was later amended and updated by the 1994 Treaty of Ouro Preto. Its purpose is to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods, people,...
, President Cristina Kirchner
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner , commonly known as Cristina Fernández or Cristina Kirchner is the 55th and current President of Argentina and the widow of former President Néstor Kirchner. She is Argentina's first elected female president, and the second female president ever to serve...
of Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and
the Union of South American Nations, said that elections held on 29 November under Micheletti would not be recognized.
Honduras
Hundreds of people made a noisy drive-by protest in TegucigalpaTegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa , and commonly referred as Tegus , is the capital of Honduras and seat of government of the Republic, along with its twin sister Comayagüela. Founded on September 29, 1578 by the Spanish, it became the country's capital on October 30, 1880 under President Marco Aurelio Soto...
on 1 December to symbolise their rejection of the elections and to highlight that the turnout estimates of over 60% were inaccurate. Zelaya's aide Carlos Reina called for the elections to be cancelled.
In early November 2009, Dagoberto Suazo of the National Resistance Front against the coup d'État in Honduras
National Resistance Front (Honduras)
The National Popular Resistance Front or National People's Resistance Front , frequently referred to as the National Resistance Front, is a wide coalition of Honduran grassroots organisations and political parties and movements that aims to restore elected President Manuel Zelaya and hold a...
asked for the international community to continue to refuse to recognise the planned 29 November elections. Marvin Ponce, a member of Congress from the Democratic Unification Party
Democratic Unification Party
The Democratic Unification Party is a left-wing political party in Honduras. PUD was founded on 29 September 1992 by the merger of four leftist clandestine or semiclandestine political parties, in the context of the changed political situation in Central America at that period, following the end...
, said that it was not possible to hold the elections in the aftermath of the coup d'état. Bertha Oliva of COFADEH
Comité de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Honduras
Committee of Relatives of the Disappeared in Honduras is a human rights NGO in Honduras founded in 1982 by 12 families of disappeared Hondurans, including Bertha Oliva de Nativí , whose husband Professor Tomás Nativí was disappeared in 1981.-Background:Honduras...
criticised the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
government for stating that Honduras could hold "free elections in less than three weeks" when "Hondurans [were being] subjected to arbitrary arrest, the closure of independent media, police beatings, torture and even killings by security forces". Oliva claimed that it was not possible to have an election campaign when the right to freedom of assembly
Freedom of assembly
Freedom of assembly, sometimes used interchangeably with the freedom of association, is the individual right to come together and collectively express, promote, pursue and defend common interests...
, freedom of movement
Freedom of movement
Freedom of movement, mobility rights or the right to travel is a human right concept that the constitutions of numerous states respect...
and press freedom were absent. She called for elections to be delayed until at least three months after human rights and democracy are restored.
On 6 November 2009, following the failure of Micheletti and Zelaya to together create a "unity cabinet", Zelaya called for a boycott
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
of the 29 November election.
On 9 November 2009, following a national meeting of leaders of the National Resistance Front against the coup d'état
National Resistance Front (Honduras)
The National Popular Resistance Front or National People's Resistance Front , frequently referred to as the National Resistance Front, is a wide coalition of Honduran grassroots organisations and political parties and movements that aims to restore elected President Manuel Zelaya and hold a...
, presidential candidate Carlos H. Reyes declared the withdrawal of his candidacy, on the grounds of not legitimising the coup d'état and fraudulent elections. At the time of Reyes' withdrawal, the Honduran newspapers El Tiempo and La Tribuna showed Reyes' right hand in a plaster cast due to an injury sustained during his 30 July beating by Honduran security forces under the control of the de facto Micheletti government. At least 30–40 candidates from various parties and independent candidates, including at least one National Party candidate, Mario Medrano in San Manuel, Cortés, also withdraw in protest. Mario Medrano stated that he withdrew his candidature in order not to legitimise the coup d'état, that this was independent of party membership, and that anyone elected could be removed [if the coup d'état remained legitimate].
Canadian investigative journalist Jesse Freeston
Jesse Freeston
Jesse Freeston is a Canadian video journalist and filmmaker. His work focuses primarily on social movements in North and Central America, but he has also done investigative work around topics such as the military-industrial complex, the global economic crisis, and undocumented migration...
released a series of three videos before and after the elections them of being "coup laundering". In the final video, "Honduran Elections Exposed", Freeston separately interviews two members of the Honduran Supreme Electoral Tribunal. The engineer in charge of the count says that 49% of Hondurans had turned out to vote. Meanwhile, the spokesman for the tribunal told Freeston that roughly 65% had turned out. Freeston concludes that nobody knows how many Hondurans turned out, since all four major international election observers (UN, EU, Carter Center
Carter Center
The Carter Center is a nongovernmental, not-for-profit organization founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter. In partnership with Emory University, The Carter Center works to advance human rights and alleviate human suffering...
, and OAS
OAS
OAS or Oas may refer to:* Organization of American States, an international organization of the Americas.* Ohio Auction School, an auction school in Ohio, USA.* Old Age Security, a social security payment available to most Canadians aged 65 or older....
) all refused to participate. The videos also exposed the police attack on an anti-election protest in San Pedro Sula
San Pedro Sula
San Pedro Sula is a city in Honduras. It is located in the northwest corner of the country, in the Valle de Sula , about 60 km south of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean. With an estimated population of 638,259 people in the main municipality, and 802,598 in its metro area , it is the second...
, the arrest of a man for posesssion of anti-election posters in Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa , and commonly referred as Tegus , is the capital of Honduras and seat of government of the Republic, along with its twin sister Comayagüela. Founded on September 29, 1578 by the Spanish, it became the country's capital on October 30, 1880 under President Marco Aurelio Soto...
, a letter the military sent to all the mayors in Honduras seeking contact information of anyone involved in the National People's Resistance Front, the shutting down of anti-coup media outlets Radio Globo
Radio Globo
Radio Globo is a radio station operating in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. It is known for its opposition to the 2009 Honduran coup d'état. It is owned by Alejandro Villatoro.The station is headed by David Romero Ellner....
and Canal 36
Canal 36
Canal 36 is a television station in Honduras. It was briefly closed down by order of the government of Roberto Micheletti on September 28, 2009 during the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, along with Radio Globo, because of its support for deposed President of Honduras Manuel Zelaya, but then...
, and the targeted assassinations of anti-coup community organizers.
International
MercosurMercosur
Mercosur or Mercosul is an economic and political agreement among Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Founded in 1991 by the Treaty of Asunción, which was later amended and updated by the 1994 Treaty of Ouro Preto. Its purpose is to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods, people,...
declared on 24 July 2009 that it would not recognise the results of the planned November elections or any other elections organised under Micheletti. President Cristina Kirchner
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner , commonly known as Cristina Fernández or Cristina Kirchner is the 55th and current President of Argentina and the widow of former President Néstor Kirchner. She is Argentina's first elected female president, and the second female president ever to serve...
of Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
stated, "We must condemn any benevolent coup attempt, that is, when through a civilian-military coup legitimate authorities are ousted followed by attempts to legalize the situation by calling new elections. This would be the death kiss for the OAS democratic charter
Inter-American Democratic Charter
The Inter-American Democratic Charter was adopted on 11 September 2001 by a special session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States, held in Lima, Peru. It is an inter-American instrument with the central aim of strengthening and upholding democratic institutions in the...
and turning the Mercosur democratic charter in mere fiction". On 10 August, the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) also declared that it would not recognise the results of elections held while the de facto Micheletti government remained in power. On 17 August, President Felipe Calderón
Felipe Calderón
Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa is the current President of Mexico. He assumed office on December 1, 2006, and was elected for a single six-year term through 2012...
of Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, together with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , known popularly as Lula, served as the 35th President of Brazil from 2003 to 2010.A founding member of the Workers' Party , he ran for President three times unsuccessfully, first in the 1989 election. Lula achieved victory in the 2002 election, and was inaugurated as...
, made a similar statement. On September 3, the US State Department issued a statement revoking all non-humanitarian assistance to Honduras and said, of the November 29 elections "At this moment, we would not be able to support the outcome of the scheduled elections".
The U.S. has since changed position and announced that it will recognize the results of the election as a part of the San Jose-Tegucigalpa Accord.
In the days preceding the elections, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
also announced their intentions to recognize the results of the elections.
On 30 November at the 19th Ibero-American Summit
Ibero-American Summit
The Ibero-American Summit , is a yearly meeting of the heads of government and state of the Spanish-...
in Estoril
Estoril
Estoril is a seaside resort and civil parish of the Portuguese municipality of Cascais, Lisboa District. The Estoril coast is close to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. It starts in Carcavelos, 15 kilometres from Lisbon, and stretches as far as Guincho, often known as Costa de Estoril-Sintra or...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
the governments of Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
, and Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
announced they are not recognizing the elections whereas Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
and Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
expressed they will while the rest of the members did not give any response. On 8 December the five Mercosur member states once again ratified their decision of not recognizing the election of Porfirio Lobo.