by Sophie Nicholson
People queue to vote during general elections, in Tegucigalpa
Honduras voters seek exit to coup crisis
Hondurans voted Sunday for a new president who will be faced with convincing the world that his election was legitimate and ending a five-month crisis set off by a military-backed coup.
Polling began calmly in the capital and across the Central American nation, including in districts where many had opposed the June 28 ouster of President Manuel Zelaya.
Fears of violence set off by a string of small bomb attacks marked a subdued campaign for the elections which had already been scheduled before the coup.
Neither Zelaya nor his rival, de facto leader Roberto Micheletti, who stepped down briefly ahead of the elections, are standing.
The two favorites, Porfirio Lobo and Elvin Santos, are from right-wing parties that have traded leadership of Honduras for years and have close ties to the powerful military.
"It's more important than ever that people come out to vote," said Lobo after casting his ballot in the northern Olancho region.
"It's about the destiny of Honduras," added Lobo, who lost to Zelaya in 2005.
The de facto regime sought to encourage voters to head to the polls after Zelaya called for a boycott from inside the Brazilian embassy in the capital, where he took refuge after secretly returning to the country in September.
Critics, including Brazil and Argentina, say the polls will endorse the coup in a region with a painful history of dictatorships.
Some 30,000 soldiers and police provided security, including inside polling stations for the first time.
"The worst part of the crisis is being afraid to go out in the street," said 20-year-old finance student Fausto Gil, who joined dozens of families turning out early at polling stations at the capital's Olympic sports park.
"I've come early so I can stay at home later."
Rights groups had complained of an environment of intimidation and fear, after a heavy-handed military crackdown on dissent, including several deaths and dozens of arrests in the aftermath of the coup.
The smooth running of the vote and participation levels are key for evaluations of its credibility.
Scores of independent observers, including Cuban exiles and right-wing US groups, are monitoring the vote, after the United Nations and the Organization of American States (OAS) declined to assist.
"Seeing the reaction of people here, the international community will see it's the best solution," said 18-year-old student Victor Zavala.
Outside another capital polling station, bricklayer Luis Lopez said he would not vote.
"There are a lot of problems with it," Lopez said.
Honduras's worst crisis in decades polarized the nation and revived deep left-right political disputes beyond its borders.
Zelaya, a wealthy rancher, swung to the left and allied with regional leftist leader Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez after taking office.
Chavez on Sunday denounced the vote as an "electoral farce."
The United States is backing the polls, after condemning the coup and freezing millions of dollars in aid, to the disappointment of many in Latin America.
Costa Rica, Panama and Peru have also suggested they will support the vote.
Polling stations opened shortly after 7:00 am (1300 GMT) and were due to close at 4:00 pm (2200 GMT), with some 4.6 million eligible to vote in the presidential and legislative elections.
It was as yet unclear who would hand over power to the new president.
The Congress is due to vote on Zelaya's brief reinstatement -- before his term runs out in January -- on Wednesday.
The Honduran courts, Congress and business community backed the military ouster of Zelaya over his plans to change the constitution.
AFP
