TEGUCIGALPA, (Reuters) – A constitutional crisis in  Honduras deepened yesterday after the supreme court rejected  President Manuel Zelaya’s firing of the top military officer in  a dispute over Zelaya’s quest to allow presidents to serve more  than a single four-year term in office.

Zelaya, an ally of Venezuela’s socialist President Hugo  Chavez, vowed to push ahead with an unofficial vote on Sunday  to gauge public support for lifting constitutional limits on  presidential terms despite objections by courts and the  military.

He rallied supporters in Tegucigalpa, capital of the  Central American coffee and banana-exporting nation of around 7  million people, and told them the court’s move amounted to a  “coup” against him.

Zelaya and his supporters stormed an air force base to take  hold of ballot boxes being stored for Sunday’s vote.

“No one can stop the referendum on Sunday,” he shouted to a  cheering crowd, promising to proceed with the vote.