Zelaya unhappy with deal delays

Ousted President Zelaya wants a Congressional vote

Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya has accused the interim government of failing to stick to an agreement to end the prolonged political crisis.

Mr Zelaya told the BBC the interim leader should force Congress to hold a vote on his reinstatement to power - a key component of the US-brokered deal.

He was speaking just hours ahead of a deadline for the deal's implementation.

Members of the cabinet of interim leader Roberto Micheletti have offered to resign in accordance with the deal.

As well as implementing a power-sharing agreement, last week's deal requires Mr Zelaya and his political rival Mr Micheletti to recognise the result of a presidential poll due to take place on 29 November.

The interim authorities, however, don't consider the Congressional vote demanded by Mr Zelaya to be an essential part of the agreement.

And that - in the end - may derail or at the very least delay the process, says the BBC's Americas editor, Emilio San Pedro.

Deadline nears

In a BBC interview, Mr Zelaya said he had followed the terms of the agreement to the letter, but accused the interim authorities of failing to keep to their side of the bargain.

There are 18 orders of arrest against Mr Zelaya for 18 different crimes - that's not a witch hunt, that is simply carrying out the law Danilo Eyzaguirre Lawyer and spokesman for Honduras' Supreme Court of Justice Mr Eyzaguirre's interview in full

For their part, the interim authorities have reiterated their view that Mr Zelaya's reinstatement is not a key component of the agreement, which was brokered by Washington.

Correspondents say that the latest disagreements are making it increasingly unlikely that the power-sharing deal will be in place before the deadline expires - at midnight on Thursday (0600GMT Friday).

On Tuesday, leaders of the Honduran Congress deferred a vote on the reinstatement of Mr Zelaya and asked the Supreme Court for its view.

Mr Zelaya earlier warned that he might consider the agreement null and void if Congress fails to vote to reinstate him by Thursday - the deadline for the full implementation of the accord.

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US State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said earlier this week that Washington would "continue to assist and support the implementation process".

But he stressed that it was "up to the Hondurans to actually carry through" the deal.

Mr Zelaya was forced out of the country on 28 June. He has been sheltering in the Brazilian embassy in the capital, Tegucigalpa, since making a surprise return to Honduras on 21 September.

He had planned to hold a non-binding public consultation to ask people whether they supported moves to change the constitution.

His critics said the move was unconstitutional and aimed to remove the current one-term limit on serving as president and pave the way for his possible re-election.