Honduran voters choose rival of Zelaya

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By Robert Buckman THE WASHINGTON TIMES

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras | Defying a boycott plea by deposed President Manuel Zelaya, Hondurans flocked to the polls in unexpectedly large numbers Sunday to hand a convincing victory to Porfirio Pepe Lobo Sosa of the opposition National Party.

The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) at 9:20 p.m. EST gave Mr. Lobo, 61, 315,963 votes (52.7 percent to 206,707 (34.4 percent) for Elvin Santos, 46, of Mr. Zelaya's Liberal Party.

In the 2005 election, Mr. Lobo narrowly lost to Mr. Zelaya, 49.9 percent to 46.4 percent. The turnout then was 55.4 percent. On Sunday, the TSE predicted that the turnout would exceed 60 percent of the 4.6 million registered voters and perhaps reach 70 percent, which is seen as a rebuke of Mr. Zelaya's attempt to deprive the newly elected president of legitimacy through a boycott.

Although a liberal, Mr. Santos supported the forcible ouster of Mr. Zelaya on June 28. He was Mr. Zelaya's vice president before resigning to run for president last year.

Mr. Zelaya sneaked back into the country and has been holed up in the Brazilian Embassy here since Sept. 21.

There were isolated reports of voter intimidation, according to an election observer from the U.S. Embassy at a polling station in the capital who said he could not be quoted by name. He said that pro-Zelaya students prevented two universities from being used as voting stations but that voters were being directed elsewhere.

"We're not here to give our blessing or not to give our blessing," he said. "We're just here to report what we see to the people who want to know."

Scores of people were lined up at each voting table; most voting stations had several tables, but only two cardboard voting booths each. Voters cast paper ballots, then had their right little fingers marked with indelible ink to prevent repeat voting. Polls opened at 7 a.m. and closed at 5 p.m. local time.

Tallying did not begin until 7 p.m. to allow voting by people in line when the polls closed.

"Everything is completely tranquil," said Maria del Rocio Cerdas Quesada, an international observer with the College of Lawyers in Costa Rica, after monitoring polling places in Tegucigalpa. "There are lots of people, people who are happy to vote and express their faith in democracy."