THF01: ELECTORAL CAMPAIGN BEGINS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 000866 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM SUBJECT: THF01: ELECTORAL CAMPAIGN BEGINS ¶1. (U) Summary. The official campaign period for the November 29 election began on August 31. While most attention will focus on the presidential candidates (plus three presidential designees),128 congressional representatives and 298 mayors will also be elected. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) has issued a communique laying out the campaign activities that are permitted and those that are prohibited. The Electoral Tribunal will pay for a minimum of media coverage for each of the 6 presidential candidates. Preparations for the elections continue despite the coup. The de facto regime hopes successful elections will restore the government's legitimacy; whether or not that will be the case is far from clear. End summary. ¶2. (U) The campaign period for the national elections scheduled to be held on November 29 began on August 31 and will run through November 23. More than 15,000 candidates will run for about 2,900 elected positions. Besides the position of president of the nation, 128 congressional seats and 298 mayoralties will be filled. Over 500,000 Honduran youth will be eligible to vote for the first time in this election. Campaign Activities -------------- ¶3. (U) On August 30, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal announced publicly the types of campaign activities that political organizations will be allowed to engage in. Parties will be able to hold meetings in private settings without prior authorization by the Electoral Tribunal. However, its authorization is needed to hold public meetings in open air locations. Parties will be able to use private media to explain their platforms and will be able to campaign using loudspeakers and vehicles in public sites. ¶4. (U) Prohibited activities include: using the state media for campaigning; transmitting messages that injure the image, good name, honor or privacy which every citizen enjoys; using expressions that denigrate the country's citizens or public institutions or political parties or its candidates; attacking the republican, democratic and representative form of government; using national or religious symbols or symbols similar to those used by other political parties; accepting contributions from governments, foreigners or anonymous contributions except those gathered during popular collections. Parties must report to the Electoral Tribunal contributions that are over 120 times the minimum salary. Also prohibited are: anonymous campaigning, engaging in violence or any acts that aim to disturb the public order or impede the work of government institutions; encouraging voter absenteeism; using religious beliefs to sway citizens' vote, placing posters on government buildings, public monuments, places of worship, or traffic signals; placing posters over those of other parties; and utilizing minors in campaign propaganda except in images of candidates' families. ¶5. (U) The Supreme Electoral Tribunal announced that in response to concerns expressed by the Democratic Union party that smaller parties may not be able to afford media access, the Tribunal will provide to each presidential candidate 250,000 lempiras (circa USD 12,500) for this purpose. However, the Tribunal will not give these funds to the candidates, but will directly pay media outlets. In addition, the Tribunal has set up a web page on which all presidential candidates will be able to post their bios and platforms. The Presidential Candidates' Platforms -------------- ¶6. (U) Liberal Party (LP) candidate Elvin Ernesto Santos Ordonez has called for the strengthening of the family and initiatives to generate employment to provide the country's youth with hopes for improved quality of life. He has promised to set up infrastructure projects throughout the country, including highways, bridges, dams, and low-income housing. Santos has said he will turn over half the national budget to municipalities for the creation of small and medium sized businesses such as in the area of tourism or agro-forestry. He wants to make the public education system bilingual so that English becomes the second language of Honduras. ¶7. (U) National Party (NP) candidate Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo TEGUCIGALP 00000866 002 OF 002 Sosa aims to turn Honduras into the main grain provider of Central America by providing incentives to farmers. Increased security is another focus of his campaign. Like Santos, he wants to make English language education compulsory in schools. He also is running on a strong law and order platform. ¶8. (U) Christian Democratic Party (CD) candidate Felicito Avila is running on a platform that advocates public order, respect for the law, and combating corruption. He has said he will ensure health care and education for all Hondurans. He plans to develop agro-industry and small and medium enterprises. ¶9. (U) Democratic Unification Party (UD) candidate Cesar Ham Pena has not yet made his platform public. He has been working with President Zelaya's supporters since the events of June 28. A large number of his party's members do not support his candidacy because he allegedly contravened the party's decision that its members would forego Congressional perks. ¶10. (U) Innovation and Unity Party (PINU) candidate Bernard Martinez stands for family unity and social justice. He has said he will increase employment through promoting and strengthening small and medium enterprises. He believes the country's security problems will be resolved once there is widespread employment. ¶11. (U) Carlos H. Reyes is running as an independent and is the first independent candidate to run for president under the country's current election law. He is the far left candidate. Reyes has not yet announced his platform, but has said he may pull out of the election if President Zelaya is not allowed to return to Honduras. The Electoral Tribunal announced on August 12 that it would provide poll workers to represent Reyes at polling sites. Normally candidates' parties provide these poll workers to protect their interests, but Reyes has no party that can do so. TSE magistrate David Matamoros pointed out that while this practice makes independent candidacies more expensive for the TSE, as long as independent candidates meet registration requirements they must not be disadvantaged because they lack the support of a party structure. ¶12. (U) Comment. Preparations for the elections continue despite the June 28 coup against President Manuel "Mel" Zelaya. The de facto regime hopes that successful election of a new president will restore Honduras' world standing. However, several governments have declared that they will not recognize any government elected with the de facto regime in power and there is a strong possibility that pro-Zelaya forces will either boycott or disrupt the election if he is not back in office by the time of the elections. Zelaya's plans to boycott the elections by asking his supporters to stay away from the polls will be most damaging to the campaign of fellow Liberal Party standard bearer Elvin Santos. LLORENS