The apparent victor in Honduras' presidential race says he intends to strike out on his own and maintain the political distance he put between himself and his predecessor.
Even though they both represent the Liberal Party, Carlos Flores Facusse said after Sunday's presidential vote that he has his own vision for the presidency, and doesn't intend to follow the path set by outpoing President Carlos Roberto Reina."We have our own style and we want to imprint the party with our own leadership," Flores Facusse said. "The fact that we each have our own vision of the country . . . doesn't mean we can't understand each other or work together."
Flores Facusse, an engineer, a newspaper owner and president of Congress, campaigned on issues like health, public safety and "moral values." At 47, he represents a different generation from the 71-year-old Reina.
Much in their backgrounds also contrasts sharply: Reina, a former political prisoner, was imprisoned by the military while Flores Facusse was studying industrial engineering in the United States.
During the presidential campaign, Flores Facusse distanced himself from Reina, who won power four years ago on a crusade against military influence in politics, and who enjoyed modest success in punishing corrupt officials during his term.
Of the first 1.1 million votes counted - there were 2.9 million registered voters - Flores Facusse had 53 percent to Gunera de Melgar's 42.4 percent - 568,163 votes to 454,305. The turnout hadn't been computed.
The election demonstrated how far Honduras has come since it began a slow and painful transition to civilian rule in 1981.
In the last vote in 1993, the military had tremendous power, and many Hondurans feared the army would attempt a coup, as it has several times this century.
However, Sunday's election was peaceful.