HONDURAN CONGRESS APPROVES POSTPONEMENT OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L TEGUCIGALPA 000996 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/04/2018 TAGS: PGOV KDEM SOCI EAID HO SUBJECT: HONDURAN CONGRESS APPROVES POSTPONEMENT OF PRIMARIES ELECTIONS TO NOVEMBER 30 REF: A. TEGUCIGALPA 982 ¶B. TEGUCIGALPA 977 ¶C. TEGUCIGALPA 970 ¶D. STATE 114424 ¶E. TEGUCIGALPA 960 Classified By: Ambassador Hugo Llorens, reasons 1.4 (b & d) ¶1. (U) In an emergency session called on November 4 by the President of the Congress Roberto Micheletti, the Honduran Congress approved postponement of the primary elections from November 16 to November 30, by amending article 113 of the Electoral Law. As was agreed in the meetings of the political parties (ref A),the postponement was qualified as being a onetime exception. In the meantime, Vice President and Liberal Party presidential candidate Elvin Santos marched on the Congress with hundreds of supporters to demand Santos be allowed to participate in the election and that he be given more time to present his case with the Supreme Court. Santos said he supported the postponement in order to assist the flood victims, but asked that he also be allowed to benefit from an extension of his stay, which expires on November 16. ¶2. (C) Comment: The postponement of the primaries was a decision reached through a consensus of civil society, all political parties, and the government (Refs A-E) in order to address the issues related to the flood and flood victims. The postponement was relatively short, and it will give the government more time to organize the elections. The military will have more time to distribute the electoral materials and the National Register of Persons will have more time to get the voting credentials out to the public. On the negative side, some candidates are complaining that they have run out of campaign funds, and that the extension benefits the wealthiest of candidates, who did not need the boost. But the biggest loser in this move is Santos, who will need to take his case to the Supreme Court before November 16 if he wants to have a chance at being a candidate. Santos' march on the Congress was symbolic, as the decision on his situation lies with the court, not the Congress, but he mustered a loud group to plead his case in front of the building nonetheless. Previously, Santos had told us he would prefer to win the internal elections with Mauricio Villeda standing in for him on the ballot, and then go to the court in a much more powerful position as the candidate-elect. Santos campaign ads all say, "A vote for Mauricio is a vote for Elvin." But if Santos does not get a decision by the court before November 16, most legal experts are saying that Mauricio will become the permanent candidate, and "A vote for Mauricio will be a vote for Mauricio." End Comment. LLORENS