Honduran legislators will wait until after a November 29th election to decide whether to reinstate ousted President Manuel Zelaya, delaying a vote central to a US-led deal to end months of political turmoil.
Mr Zelaya, who annoyed the poor nation's elite by forming close ties with Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, was sent into exile by soldiers on June 28th and a de facto government led by Roberto Micheletti took charge.
The US-brokered pact to end the crisis stipulates a congressional vote on reinstating Mr Zelaya, but it never set a date and the October accord crumbled within days as the rival sides failed to form a unity government.
"We've decided to convene sessions for December 2nd," Congress head Jose Saavedra told reporters, adding that lawmakers expected the Supreme Court to give an opinion next week on whether Mr Zelaya should be returned to power until a new president is sworn in during January after the November 29th election.
Mr Zelaya, who has been holed up at the Brazilian embassy since sneaking back into country in September, initially welcomed the pact, which he said was meant to reinstate him.
But he has since vowed to refuse to return to the presidency as part of any negotiated deal, saying to do so would legitimise the coup and the presidential election, which he is urging his supporters to boycott.
"Micheletti's dialogue is over. It's dead because you can't have a dialogue with someone who doesn't want to," Mr Zelaya told local radio.
With less than two weeks left before the vote, Congress has been dragging its feet on debating Mr Zelaya's return. Many lawmakers are running for re-election and analysts say they are reluctant to tackle an issue that has split the nation.
Reuters