A slim majority of the Honduran Congress on Wednesday voted against the reinstatement of ousted President Manuel Zelaya.

According to a state television channel report, 64 members of the 126 lawmakers attending the meeting refused Zelaya's return to the presidency following a six-hour debate late Wednesday.

Zelaya's restitution has remained as the key issue in the political crisis since the former president was ousted in a June 28 coup and forced to exile in Costa Rica.

Under the mediation of Costa Rica, the two sides agreed to form a unity government and hold general elections on Nov. 29.

Opposition candidate Porfirio Lobo claimed victory after the Sunday election, but the newly elected president is now facing an international division.

Many countries, especially those in Latin America, refuse to recognize any new government and insist on Zelaya's immediate restoration to the presidency.

Some others, however, including the United States, Canada, Peru, Costa Rica, and Panama, have decided to recognize the outcome of the election as long as the process proves to have been clean and transparent.

Zelaya has been staying in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa since returning to Honduras in late September.