Honduras interim gov't says open to early election

By Mica Rosenberg

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduras' interim government said on Thursday it was open to holding early elections to resolve the impasse over ousted President Manuel Zelaya, as the Organization of American States readied a mission to Honduras to push for his reinstatement.

The leader of the caretaker government, Roberto Micheletti, said holding a referendum was possible on bringing back the leftist president to serve out the last few months of his term, although it would be "difficult" to do so immediately.

Conveying a more conciliatory tone than in recent days, Micheletti told reporters he would be "in total agreement" with bringing forward a Nov. 29 presidential election.

"I have no objection if it would be a way of resolving these problems," he said.

The OAS, which groups most of the countries in the Western Hemisphere including the United States, has given the interim leadership until Saturday to restore Zelaya or be suspended from the body.

The Honduran administration has so far rebuffed any attempts to bring back Zelaya, who was ousted in a military coup last Sunday in a dispute over presidential term limits that has become the biggest political crisis in Central America since the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1989.

The coup in the impoverished coffee and textile exporting country of some 7 million people has created a test for regional diplomacy and for U.S. commitment to shoring up democracy in Latin America.

OAS Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza will visit Honduras on Friday. According to Zelaya, he will deliver an ultimatum to return him to office and will not negotiate.