Slashdot reports on Computerized Election Results With No Election:
“In Honduras, according to breaking Catalan newspaper reports (translations available, USA Today mention), authorities have seized 45 computers containing certified election results for a constitutional election that never happened. The election had been scheduled for June 28, but on that day the president, Manuel Zelaya, was ousted. The 'certified' and detailed electronic records of the non-existent election show Zelaya's side having won overwhelmingly.”
Which is indeed interesting.
And one of the tags the editors put on the story is …. “Florida2000”.
I find the whole Hunduras thing troubling, no doubt because I don’t have all the facts. However, what I do know is that it went down something like this:
Democratically elected government in place;
Democratically elected President and Legislature;
President is subject to term limits;
President wants to change the constitution to remove/alter term limits;
President announces that he will hold an election for the above purpose;
Legislature takes the position that the President does not have the authority to put on this referendum;
President decides that he will use executive resources to put on the referendum anyways;
Legislature (or someone else) appeals to the Judiciary;
Judiciary decides the issue and agrees that the President does not have the authority to hold the referendum;
President still doesnt care what the rest of the government says and indicates that the referendum will be held anyways;
The Court then orders the removal of the President, which the legislature approves, and the military carries out.
I am not sure how or why this is a coupe (what if Nixon would have refused to step down?). Mind you, I have no idea what the constructional procedures for removing the President in Honduras might be, but this doesnt sound too bad to me.
In my comment above I mentioned “constructional procedure.” That was a typo. I meant “constitutional procedures.”