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Though Honduras had made significant strides toward strengthening its democracy since transitioning from military rule in 1980, recent events disrupted the country’s democratic institutions and interrupted the constitutional order. Although civil society had played a more active role in strengthening the oversight of the electoral process, accusations of irregularities surrounded previous Honduran elections. The 2005 presidential election highlighted the shortcomings of the Honduran electoral system, particularly in the transmission of election results.  Electoral reforms passed in 2007 aimed to address some of these issues. These reforms also brought new challenges such as decentralizing the vote count to the municipal and departmental levels, which delayed the release of final results in the November 2008 primary elections.

Throughout early 2009, Honduras witnessed an extended dispute between branches of government over attempts by President Manuel Zelaya to hold a poll on convening a constituent assembly to amend the Honduran constitution, a step ruled illegal by the Supreme Court. The failure to reconcile these positions resulted in Zelaya’s forcible removal on June 28, 2009, and Honduran society became further polarized between those who opposed Zelaya’s exile as illegal and those who argued that the move marked the legitimate removal and replacement of a president who violated constitutional provisions. The Honduran Congress replaced Zelaya with its speaker Roberto Micheletti, who in turn appointed a new government. Despite suspension of Honduras from the Organization of American States (OAS) and overwhelming international condemnation of what was broadly seen as a coup d’état, Zelaya was not restored to office.

Against this backdrop, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (Tribunal Supremo Electoral, TSE) continued to prepare for the constitutionally-mandated November 29 elections, convoked prior to June 28, and the previously chosen candidates continued campaigning. The campaign period was marked by intermittent restrictions on constitutional liberties, while demonstrations organized by supporters of the deposed president were met with a strong police response and human rights organizations documented a pattern of rights violations following the coup. The de facto government also imposed, and later lifted, a state of siege after Zelaya appeared in the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa in September, where he remained until January 27. Negotiations between representatives of the two sides resulted in the Tegucigalpa/San José Accord, signed on October 30, but implementation of the accord quickly stalled over disagreement on how to constitute a unity government.

The November 29 elections took place as scheduled and yielded a decisive victory for Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo of the opposition National Party (Partido Nacional de Honduras, PNH) and the PNH’s congressional and municipal candidates. However, the elections did not receive the recognition of all domestic or international actors. On December 2, Congress overwhelmingly rejected Zelaya’s restoration in a vote provided for in the Tegucigalpa/San José Accord.

On January 27, 2010, Lobo was sworn in as president and signed into law a political amnesty that absolved the military officers and others involved in the coup of any wrongdoing. Immediately following his inauguration, Lobo escorted Zelaya to the airport, where he was flown to exile in the Dominican Republic. Despite the transfer of power and Lobo’s promises to fulfill the provisions set forth in the Tegucigalpa/San José Accord, the new government was not immediately recognized by most of the countries in the Western Hemisphere. In April, Lobo formally created the Truth Commission stipulated in the Accord, including both international and Honduran representatives, to investigate the events surrounding the June 2009 coup. Anti-coup forces that had supported Zelaya have shifted their focus to promoting a constituent assembly, and Honduran society remains highly polarized.

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International Election Assessment Mission

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