[zinthaqq]

The former President Manuel Zelaya attempted to hold a non-binding referendum that would determine whether Congress should or could convene in the interest of modifying the Honduran constitution. A presidential limit of one term is expressly mandated by the Honduran constitution and was included as a result of the heightened probability of, and concern regarding, the rise of would-be dictators in a developing nations and fledgling democracy like that of Honduras. Thus, Zelaya's concern over the quality of the current Honduran constitution, was not one shared by the majority of elected and appointed officials in congress, parliament, or the military, and it even held little to no favor amongst members of Zelaya's own political party. Opponents of Zelaya's argued that he simply wanted to change the constitution in such a way as to enable him to remain president beyond 2009, and possibly indefinitely.