Honduran congress votes against restoring Zelaya to office

What is Obama going to say now? The Honduran Congress is not legit?

The Honduran congress voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to reaffirm its June decision to fire President Manuel ``Mel'' Zelaya, leaving up in the air what will happen to the deposed leader who has been holed up in the Brazilian embassy for more than two months. ``We stand by our position that Zelaya can't be restored because he violated the constitution,'' Rodolfo Irias, the congressional president of the National Party, said during the debate. With several congressional members still left to vote Wednesday night, 77 had already cast their vote to block Zelaya's return, providing the necessary majority. Congress members debated his return for more than six hours in a daylong session that opened with a prayer asking guidance from God, who ``offers kings and takes them away.'' The odds for reinstatement seemed stacked against Zelaya from the start. His political fate rested with the same 128-member legislative body that voted overwhelmingly in June in favor of his removal on charges of treason and abuse of power. And the session opened with a video that served to document Zelaya's errors and justify the congress' June 28 decision to replace him. On Wednesday, more than 90 legislators signed the motion supporting his ouster, more than needed to keep Zelaya from returning to power. The country's Human Rights Commission, attorney general and ombudsman offered legal opinions advising against Zelaya's restitution. The attorney general said Zelaya was replaced because he was ``absent.''