US embassy cable - 05TEGUCIGALPA2346

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 002346 
 
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 15 
 
REF: Tegucigalpa 2337 and previous 
 
TSE Announces New Mechanism to Combat Electoral Fraud 
 
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1.  Carlos Romero, the Director of Elections at the Supreme 
Electoral Tribunal (TSE), announced a new procedural 
mechanism to combat electoral fraud.  Once voting is 
finished, election judges will count all valid marks on each 
ballot.  The head official at each election table will have 
to note the total number of valid marks made on the reverse 
of the ballot.  This check is particularly necessary in the 
case of congressional and municipal.  For example, the 
Department of Francisco Morazan has 23 seats in Congress; 
each is elected at-large.  Accordingly, voters can select up 
to 23 congressional candidates from among a total of 115 
choices (each of the five political parties has twenty-three 
candidates).  However, only 23 marks will be allowed on the 
Francisco Morazan congressional ballot.  More than 23 marks 
will immediately disqualify the entire ballot.  Ballots 
containing 23 or fewer marks will be valid.  It is believed 
that the integrity of the electoral process will be enhanced 
by forcing election judges to record the total number of 
marks on the reverse of the ballot to prevent anyone from 
adding marks to the ballot, as allegedly occurred in some 
instances in the February primary elections.  Additionally, 
this figure must also be recorded in the electoral minutes 
taken by the electoral table Secretary.  Of course, this 
system assumes the integrity of the election judges. 
 
2.  Nearly 15,000 Election Handbooks will be handed out to 
each party before election day to instruct electoral table 
officials on regulations pertaining to electoral table and 
other matters related to the general election on November 27. 
On election day, there will be nearly 14,000 electoral tables 
countrywide that should be staffed by a representative of 
each of the five political parties.  Every table will select 
a member to serve as president and another member to serve as 
secretary.  Since the smaller political parties do not have 
 
SIPDIS 
sufficient national coverage, many tables will not have 
representatives from the smaller parties. 
 
TSE Sends Mobile Units to Educate Voters 
 
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3.  The TSE has dispatched mobile training units to different 
cities in the country to educate citizens on the electoral 
process in preparation for the November 27 general election. 
Some of the information made available by the mobile teams 
includes the location of voting centers, acceptable ways of 
marking the ballot, etc.  This voter education effort will 
continue until election day and is financially supported by 
the Organization of American States (OAS).  USAID has funded 
a larger voter education effort through the umbrella NGO 
FOPRIDEH. 
 
Indelible Voting Ink Arrives 
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4.  The TSE received 15 thousand markers, which will be used 
to stain a finger of each citizen who casts his/her vote on 
Election Day.  The markers were purchased from a Mexican 
company thanks to a donation from the Government of Japan. 
The ink used is different than that used during the primary 
election.  The total cost for the election markers was 1.5 
million lempiras (USD 79,500).  It is estimated that each pen 
has 400 applications.  When marked, the ink lasts from three 
to five days.  PolChief tested the ink and confirmed the 
durability. 
 
TSE to Permit Vote on Candidate's Photograph 
 
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5.  The TSE has determined that a mark on a given candidate's 
photograph, in lieu of the box below the photo, will be 
considered valid.  During the primary elections February 20, 
this type of mark was prohibited and disqualified the entire 
ballot.  TSE President Aristides Mejia stated that it is 
important that the will of the voter be taken into account. 
The decision to accept ballots where the voters have marked 
the photograph was unanimously supported by the TSE 
magistrates.  This decision by the TSE pertains to all three 
election ballots: presidential, congressional, and municipal. 
 
PINU Presents Government Plan 
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6.  Dr. Carlos Alejandro Sosa Coello, presidential candidate 
of the Innovation and Unity Party (PINU), presented his 
government plan during a ceremony at a local hotel in 
Tegucigalpa on November 1.  The plan, which is part campaign 
platform and part roadmap for post-election action, is 
organized into four major sections:  health, education, 
employment, and security.  The plan calls for the sustainable 
exploitation of natural resources and the development of 
renewable energy, supports vocational education, and 
evidences a strong determination to combat drug trafficking. 
 
Ford