US embassy cable - 05TEGUCIGALPA1949

UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 001949 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CEN, WHA/PPC, WHA/USOAS, AND DRL/PHD 
STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CEN AND DCHA/DG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, KDEM, HO 
SUBJECT: HONDURAN ELECTIONS NEWS: UPDATE 3 
 
REF: (A) Tegucigalpa 1680 
 
     (B) Tegucigalpa 1665 
 
TSE Set to Print 12 million ballots 
 
SIPDIS 
----------------------------------- 
 
1.  The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) hired four local 
companies to print a total of 12 million ballots at a cost of 
20 Million Lempiras (USD 1.06 million).  (Note: Each voter 
will have separate presidential, congressional, and municipal 
ballots.  End Note.)  The four Honduran companies, 
Graficentro Editores, Lithopress, Imprenta Bulnes, and 
Litoprin, printed the ballots for the internal elections held 
in February.  Although the picture format will be the same as 
the previous ballot, Aristides Mejia, president of the TSE, 
stated that candidates who did not submit their photographs 
on time would only have their name on the ballot.  According 
to Mejia, observers from all the parties will be present at 
the time of printing, to make sure that the process is 
carried out accurately and transparently. 
 
150 Candidates Resign Before General Elections 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
2.  For many different reasons, over 150 candidates to 
varying political positions submitted their resignations to 
the TSE.  They were immediately replaced by their parties. 
The greatest number of replacements/substitutions occurred in 
the National Party, 56 in total.  The Liberal party had 49 
and the remaining 45 belonged to the three small parties. 
Most reasons were personal; but some were constitutionally 
disqualified, and in addition, 12 candidates were 
disqualified due to pending debts with the government. 
 
3.  Most of the resignations were candidates for municipal 
positions.  Congressional resignations occurred where the 
candidates did not have a strong probability of winning the 
general elections, or they preferred to remain in their 
current GOH positions and were automatically disqualified 
from running for reelection.  (Note: The electoral law 
requires national candidates to resign from their GOH 
positions six months prior to the general election.  End 
Note.)  There are rumors that vacancies available in the 
Congressional ballots could be filled with candidates who 
lost in the internal elections in February.  Thus, National 
Party politicians such as Congressman Oswaldo Ramos Soto and 
the Mayor of Tegucigalpa, Miguel Pastor, may still be chosen 
by the party to fill the vacancies. 
 
RNP Back on Track for ID card Issuance 
-------------------------------------- 
 
4.  The National Registry of Persons (RNP) has announced that it is 
issuing the necessary identification cards for voting in the 
November elections with a three-day turnaround.  The RNP said that 
by November all requests will have been processed.  They estimate 
that since their technological deficiencies have been corrected, 
they now have the capacity to produce between 9,000-10,000 ID's 
daily. 
 
Williard