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TEGUCIGALPA : Honduran lawmakers were Wednesday to start discussing the reinstatement of deposed President Manuel Zelaya, until his term ends in January, in the latest twist in a five-month crisis.
It appeared unlikely that Congress would back Zelaya's reinstatement since the same lawmakers also voted for his destitution shortly after soldiers packed him onto a plane on June 28.
But many Latin American governments warn they will not restore ties with Honduras unless Zelaya is allowed to finish his own term, which ends January 27.
Divisions in the Central American nation have remained wide after a weekend election held under the de facto regime behind Zelaya's ouster, in which conservative Porfirio Lobo claimed a solid victory.
The regime hailed the elections as a broad success, while Zelaya's camp called for them to be cancelled and accused election officials of inflating participation figures.
The United States, a key business partner, and the European Union, a key donor, said they saw the polls as an important first step forward, but many in Latin America, starting with powerhouse Brazil, said they served to whitewash the coup.
Lobo, who backed the coup, has so far refused to take a stance on Zelaya's return, saying that lawmakers must decide.
Lobo's National Party has 55 seats in the 128-member Congress.
Zelaya's Liberal Party has 62, but its members are deeply split after Zelaya swung to the left under the influence of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
"I don't see Congress... voting any kind of amnesty or settlement with Zelaya. He has been made into an even more potent symbol of change, and I can't believe that the Honduran elite classes will allow him freedom to engage in political activity," said Latin America analyst Dan Hellinger, of Webster University in the United States.
Zelaya has also suggested that he will not resume the presidency even if Congress votes him back in, saying a US pact which left the decision on his reinstatement to Congress had failed when lawmakers delayed the debate.
Delays could continue. Lawmakers were to start discussions Wednesday, but it was not clear when they would actually vote.
They were due to consider the advice of the attorney general and the Supreme Court, which has said that criminal charges against Zelaya still stand.
Zelaya was ousted after critics, including the Supreme Court, Congress and business leaders, said he acted against the constitution and tried to illegally extend term limits.
Zelaya supporters, who boycotted the polls, planned to demonstrate outside Congress Wednesday.
- AFP /ls
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