Arcadia Foundation

Hondurans everywhere have cause for celebration today. The dark cloud that has besmirched their liberty, their political democracy for so long has indeed been lifted. Conservative opposition candidate Porfirio Lobo and his supporters have reason to bask in victory in the aftermath of the Honduran presidential election.

Voting appeared to have been steady, pointing to a willingness by many Hondurans to move on. Election officials say more than 60 percent of registered voters cast ballots yesterday, an increase from the last election, when about 55 percent voted. The post-coup crisis has crippled the coffee-producing country for months and cut it off from much-needed international funds.

The first big task for the newly elected president of Honduras is indeed convincing the world of his legitimacy and showing that Hondurans want to put a summer crisis behind them.

Interim leaders hoped a strong turnout would prove the vote’s legitimacy and free the poor Central American nation from the international isolation that followed the June 28 ouster of Manuel Zelaya.

Zelaya is no doubt seen as certain to dispute the official numbers. But even amidst his bitterness, conservative rancher Porfirio Lobo’s main opponent, Elvin Santos, has himself conceded defeat and called for unity.

Mr. Lobo has sold himself as the man most likely to lead Honduras out of political gridlock and diplomatic isolation. The Arcadia Foundation congratulates Mr. Lobo and his administration – we will be providing an e-book entitled “Democracy Challenged: A Retrospective of a Honduras Struggling for Liberty” in the weeks to follow.

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