Honduras holds election, hopes to emerge from political turmoil

EGUCIGALPA, Honduras -- This Central American country held presidential elections on Sunday in a bid to regain international legitimacy after a coup that has rattled the hemisphere and frustrated the Obama administration's efforts to improve relations with Latin America.

The U.S. government is hoping the elections will help resolve the crisis that exploded when the Honduran military detained President Manuel Zelaya on June 28. But most nations in the region have declared they will not recognize the winner, saying that would ratify the coup.

Turnout appeared light Sunday morning at some polling stations in poor neighborhoods, but voters lined up in working-class and middle-class areas. Zelaya, who has been holed up in the Brazilian Embassy since sneaking back into the country two months ago, has called for a boycott of the vote.

Fearing violence, Honduran authorities deployed thousands of soldiers and police to guard the polls. Pickup trucks filled with camouflage-clad soldiers clutching AK-47 rifles or manning machine guns cruised the capital, but no major incidents were reported.