A few hours before the general elections begin on Sunday in Honduras, people in Tegucigalpa, capital
of the country, continued with their daily life in relative calm.
On the streets, some slogans urge voters to vote while other slogans call on them not to vote in an
apparent show of the division that has plagued the nation since a coup ousted President Manuel Zelaya
five months ago.
Police and soldiers can be seen at a few places, including the Central Park of Tegucigalpa, the
Electoral Supreme Tribunal and the Brazilian embassy, where Zelaya is currently staying.
Nevertheless, for many Hondurans it was business as usual on Saturday. Restaurants and stores remained
open and residents were taking a walk in parks and visiting shopping centers — or just spending some
time there enjoying the Christmas decorations on the streets and in shopping centers.
About 4.6 million Hondurans have been registered for the elections to choose the country’s president,
three vice presidents, 128 deputies to the National Congress, 20 members of the Central American
parliament and 298 mayors among more than 13,000 candidates.
The country is divided in three groups — those who see the elections as a solution to the political
crisis and will go to vote, those who support ousted President Manuel Zelaya and consider these
elections as illegitimate, and those who will not vote because they think the elections will not fix
the problems.