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Nicaraguans Chide Ortega for Honduras Meddling
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The vast majority of people in Nicaragua think president Daniel Ortega should stay out of a political conflict unfolding in Honduras, according to a poll by M&R published in La Prensa. 69.4 per cent of respondents disagree with Ortega’s decision to intervene in the Honduran conflict, while 26.5 per cent support it.
In November 2005, Manuel Zelaya—candidate of the Liberal Party (PL)—won the presidential election in Honduras with 49.9 per cent of all cast ballots, defeating National Party (PN) nominee Porfirio Lobo Sosa. Less than 69,000 votes separated the two contenders. Zelaya took office in January 2006.
On Jun. 28, Zelaya was forced out of the country by a group of military officers and flown to Costa Rica. Congress leader Roberto Micheletti, also a Liberal, was appointed interim president that same day.
Zelaya had ordered a referendum seeking to enact a new constitution that would scrap presidential term limits, angering political opponents and allies alike, as well as the country’s Constitutional Court, which had previously ruled that the referendum was illegal.
Zelaya has not been allowed to return to Honduras since the coup. World leaders have unanimously condemned the ouster of a democratically elected president.
Ortega, an ally of Zelaya and fellow Central American head of state, has been especially critical of the coup. On Jul. 4, Ortega called the Nicaraguan army to do "anything necessary" to "avoid a blood bath" in neighbouring Honduras. The interim Honduran government denounced the movement of Nicaraguan troops along the border immediately thereafter.
Polling Data
Do you agree or disagree with Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega’s decision to intervene in the Honduran conflict?
|
Agree |
26.5% |
|
Disagree |
69.4% |
|
Not sure |
4.1% |
Do you think deposed Honduran president Manuel Zelaya should return to office?
|
Yes |
54.1% |
|
No |
40.3% |
|
Not sure |
5.6% |
Source: M&R / La Prensa
Methodology: Interviews with 800 Nicaraguan adults, conducted on Jul. 9, 2009. Margin of error is 2.5 per cent.