Honduras Votes Today:Update Porfirio Lobo Wins

Update:

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Porfirio Lobo, a longtime conservative politician, appeared to have won on Sunday in the Honduran presidential election, which many hoped could help the country emerge from the crisis caused by last summer’s coup and end its isolation.The electoral tribunal said Sunday night that Mr. Lobo had 52 percent of the vote, with almost two-thirds of the votes counted. That gave him a margin of more than 16 percentage points over his main opponent, Elvin Santos. Shortly before midnight, Mr. Santos conceded, Reuters reported.

Considering its been months since Zeleya's removal and he is now refusing to accept any elections, the next decision will be whether to accept this election as legitimate or continue the crisis. Considering the confused response from the Obama admin its anyone's guess what will happen next:

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Rony Gómez will stay home when Hondurans go to the polls on Sunday to elect a new president, five months after the military and Congress ousted the last one. “I won’t vote,” he said. “It would be endorsing the coup.”

The question is how many Hondurans feel like Mr. Gómez, a 40-year-old street vendor and former soldier. Manuel Zelaya, the deposed president, condemns the elections as illegal, and predicts a low turnout that will show that he still enjoys popular support.

But the de facto government that has run the country since the coup last summer argues that the elections — scheduled long before the country’s turmoil began — are the only way to end the political crisis and move on. A large turnout would prove that most Hondurans agree.

Many people here, weary of what they refer to as “the situation,” and worried as the economy spirals downward, say they do plan to vote. “That’s how the transition starts,” said Moisés Bados Castellano, 67, a retired accountant and farmer. “We need democracy in this country.”

Of course this all began with the power grab by Zeleya months ago:

And behind Zeleya was the dangerous thug Chavez who managed to rattle the saber over the issue even while his eft wing allies in the International community tried to provide him and Zeleya with support.

More from CNN:

Tegucigalpa, Honduras (CNN) -- About 30,000 police officers and soldiers were set to be deployed across Honduras on Sunday for a presidential election that is being viewed in starkly different terms inside the country.Those who support ousted President Manuel Zelaya, who was forced from office in a coup in June, are urging citizens to stay home.

They say that participating in the polls is tantamount to legitimizing the de facto government of Roberto Micheletti, who replaced Zelaya.The current government, on the other hand, sees the election as a means to end months of international isolation. The coup, widely condemned worldwide, cut off foreign aid to the Central American nation and dealt a blow to its economy.Micheletti's administration is hoping the international community will recognize whoever emerges the winner of the race.

May it be peaceful