To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what observations were made by UK representatives of the presidential election in Honduras on 29 November 2009; and what recognition the UK will afford to the Government formed by any of the candidates who participated.

holding answer 10 December 2009

No UK representatives travelled to Honduras to observe the presidential elections in Honduras on 29 November 2009, and no official EU election observation mission was deployed. We understand that approximately 300 international observers attended polling stations on election day and two election experts from the European Commission were in-country at the time of the elections.

Prior to the elections we made clear our belief that the democratically elected President, Manuel Zelaya, had to be returned to office. We note that the elections, although carried out under abnormal circumstances, were held in a largely peaceful manner. The UK, and our EU partners, will continue to encourage all parties to work towards full implementation of the San José/Tegucigalpa Accord and restoration of constitutional democratic order in the country.