Golpista elections threatening to come apart at the seams

[rabs]

The Supreme Electoral Tribunal has a problem. Or 15,000,000 problems.

The Tribunal ordered the printing of 15 million ballots for Nov. 29. They are roughly equal in number for the presidential race, the congressional (deputies) race and the department (province) and local municipal elections across the country.

So the ballots are printed, sealed in boxes and under guard by the Honduran army in military warehouse. Under Honduran electoral law, the ballots cannot be tampered with in any way after they are sealed.

The ballots are printed with a photo of the candidates under a logo of the party they represent in the various races. There is the problem.

Independent presidential candidate Carlos H. Reyes this week dropped out of the race. Yesterday the Tribunal was considering using a "laser guillotine" to cut out Reyes's photo from the nearly five million ballots. His photo has to be removed or else the ballot is invalid according to electoral law.

This is the ballot for the presidency:

http://www.elheraldo.hn/var/elheraldo_site/storage/original/application/dc8c27aad223116769f39273e4b1d986.pdf


Yesterday, the mayor of a town named Morilica in northern Honduras said he also would not run. Today, the mayor of the city of Danli announced he would not run. Also today, the mayor of San Pedro Sula, the SECOND largest city in Honduras, announced he will not run. All said that without Zelaya in the presidency, the elections are not valid.

Droves of other candidates are expected to drop out in the coming days, which creates a massive dilemma for the golpista electoral honchos; what to do with ballots that have candidates who are NOT running and which under law are invalid?

Then today, another scandal was revealed by CholusatSur. In an intercepted telephone call, Liberal Party presidential candidate Elwin Santos is heard confirming with his campaign manager that 79 million lempiras (almost four million dollars) have been earmarked from FEDERAL funds for campaign distribution in Tegucigalpa alone.

Under Honduran law, it is illegal to use federal funds to finance a political campaign and the reaction is outrage.

Poor inept golpistas. They can't even run a decent, fraudulent election.
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Judi Lynn]

1. So they got caught, thanks to Santos, with their mitts in the people's cookie jar

I hope it won't all be left up to ChouSatSur to do all the investigation needed to follow this brilliant idea back to the author. He/she needs to be in prison, then.

How can our administration remain unaware of something like this?

Way to go, Elwin Santos. Such a smooth move.

http://www.radioamerica.hn.nyud.net:8090/noticias/Elvin-Santos-Ordo%C3%B1ez-2.jpg

Say g'bye to Elwin Santos.

[Peace Patriot]

2. They could just keep cutting faces out of ballots, until the ballots are in shreds.

But what if they slip up and cut out some of the wrong faces? That could get messy.

OR, they could ask John McCain for some more US taxpayer millions, to just keep reprinting the ballots each time another candidate drops out in protest.

I can think of a lot of solutions for the golpistas.

Oh, yeah, and then there is James Baker. He's all for elections under marshall law (Washington Psst op-ed last week). They could give a call to James Baker and ask his advice. He'd think of something. (How 'bout the Supreme Court chooses the winners?)

I understand that Honduras has compulsory voting. Maybe the Supreme Court could cook something up, like, stretching that concept to include compulsory running for office. Anybody who drops out of the election goes to jail?

I was wondering what they're going to do to voters who won't vote. A few weeks back, some Honduran coup general said that the military "would not permit a boycott of the election." How is that going to be enforced--dragging people out of their homes to the polling place? shooting voters?

Hail, Freedonia!

[Downwinder]

5. The punch card election?

[EFerrari]

3. "This posse couldn't find itself."

And as far as the federal funds earmarked for the "campaign", I keep remembering the sack of Miraflores in '02.

I wish I could go to Honduras right now. Man.

[Judi Lynn]

6. The bastards even cleaned out the safe before fleeing. What class. n/t

[Downwinder]

7. Hold that Florida flight!

[Braulio]

10. Or the suitcase of PDVSA money going to Argentina for the elections

I also recall they found millions of USD flowing via PDVSA planes to Argentina to finance the Fernandez campaign.

[Downwinder]

4. The impossibility of co-existing with the Empire.

[Bacchus39]

8. fascinating considering the population is about 7,000,000

and I imagine at least a third is under voting age.

[Bacchus39]

9. I wonder what Honduran law says about NOT having an election??? n/t

s

[Braulio]

11. They'll have the election

I'm sure the Hondurans can figure out how to use white out if they have to. These guys are desperate to crash the elections, but as I've held all along, the elections sure seemed like a good bet. And because their candidates don't have a ghost of a chance, they are of course trying to say the elections aren't valid.

What I'd like to see if whether Cuba can hold an election half as clean as what Honduras is about to have. I guess we'll see the day when the Cuban people have a revolution and get rid of the "dictatorship of the proletariat", LOL.