The former president of Honduras just put his fate in the hands of a Congress that voted 122-6 to oust him.

But a power-sharing deal hatched late Thursday with a push from the Obama administration could bring an end to Honduras' four-month political crisis and allow toppled President Manuel Zelaya to come out of hiding from the Brazilian Embassy and face something else: a judge.

Zelaya was scuttled out of the country June 28 in his pajamas after running afoul of the Supreme Court and Congress. Now two men who both claimed to be the legitimate president during four months of protests, curfews and military crackdowns announced an accord that creates a government of national reconciliation and a truth commission.

A STUMBLING BLOCK

But there's a critical stumbling block for the deposed president. Congress -- with opinions from the Supreme Court, the attorney general and other state entities -- ultimately will have the final say whether to allow the firebrand leftist to finish the last months of his term.

``Both of these gentlemen are quite stubborn,'' Thomas Shannon, the U.S. State Department's top diplomat for the Western Hemisphere, told The Miami Herald. ``In the end, both felt that for the greater good of Honduras, they needed to make compromises.''

The accord was brokered with the urging of a high-level Obama administration delegation that flew to Tegucigalpa this week and pushed the two sides back to the negotiation table, even as Republicans in the U.S. Congress denounced their participation as meddling.

Shannon is awaiting confirmation to become ambassador to Brazil, a nomination being held up by Republicans furious over the United States' support for Zelaya.

The delegation, which included Shannon, Obama advisor Dan Restrepo and Craig A. Kelly, principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, met with presidential candidates, civil society, the armed forces and the two declared presidents.

``They came here with the attitude of respectful diplomats,'' Vilma Morales, a negotiator who represented the de facto government, told The Herald. ``They came to listen and to help. We've been working toward this for 122 days, and we feel satisfied and happy that it was done for the good and absolute love for Honduras.''

Shannon said the ``psychological trigger point'' came this week when under Honduran law the military went under the command of the electoral council, signaling that national elections are 30 days away.

UNRECOGNIZED ELECTION

That key date underscored that the nation was about to embark on a presidential election that would not be recognized by the international community and allowed both sides to reconsider their stance.

Under the agreement:

• Nobody gets amnesty for their roles in the events that led up to Zelaya's ouster.

• Nov. 29 presidential elections will go on as planned.

• A verification commission to monitor the accord will be created Monday, and a reconciliation government will form by Thursday, Nov. 5.

• A truth commission will investigate what happened ``before, during and after'' Zelaya's June 28 ouster.

• Zelaya will give up his quest for a referendum to reform the constitution.

``It's worth noting that accepting this proposal represents a significant concession by this government,'' Roberto Micheletti, the former president of Congress who was tapped to replace Zelaya, said in a national address. ``But we also understand that our people demand that we turn the page of our history.

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