Electoral Law 2004

OBJECT OF THE LAW. This Law and its Regulations are of public order and shall govern the electoral processes that are held through universal suffrage. It shall also govern Electoral Organizations, Political Parties, Alliances and Independent Candidacies, as well as the activities of all institutions that are determined by this Law.

PRINCIPLES. The Electoral system shall be governed by the following principles:

• 1)

  Legitimacy;

• 2)

  Universality;

• 3)

  Electoral freedom;

• 4)

  Impartiality;

• 5)

  Transparency and honesty in electoral processes;

• 6)

  Equality;

• 7)

  Secrecy, non-transferability, mandatory nature and incentives for the exercise of suffrage;

• 8)

  Legality;

• 9)

  Accountability;

• 10)

  Good Faith;

• 11)

  Due process;

• 12)

  Official procedure impetus; and, 13) Equity.

ELECTION SYSTEM. In accordance with the provisions established in this Law, the election system may be:

• 1)

  By simple majority or,

• 2)

  By proportional representation by electoral constituencies and remainders,

• 3)

  national departmental and municipal.

UNINOMINAL ELECTION. The following shall be elected by simple majority of votes:

• 1)

  The President and Vice-President of the Republic in joint and direct form;

• 2)

  The Deputies to the National Congress in those Departments in which only one corresponds; and,

• 3)

  The other cases that this Law establishes.

MEANS OF POLITICAL PARTICIPATION. Political Parties, Alliances and Independent Candidacies constitute the means for political participation of citizens. CHAPTER II CITIZENS, SUFFRAGE AND VOTERS

CITIZENS. All Hondurans who have reached eighteen (18) years of age are citizens, this condition grants them the character of voters and imposes on them the duty and grants them the right to obtain their identity card, be registered in electoral registries and exercise suffrage, among other duties and rights established by the Constitution and the Laws.

VOTERS. All Honduran citizens registered in the National Electoral Census who are not disqualified as established by the Constitution and this Law are voters. TITLE II ELECTORAL ORGANIZATION CHAPTER I ELECTORAL ORGANIZATIONS

ELECTORAL ORGANIZATIONS. Electoral Organizations are:

• 1)

  Supreme Electoral Tribunal;

• 2)

  Departmental Electoral Tribunals;

• 3)

  Electoral and Municipal Tribunals; and,

• 4)

  Electoral Receiving Polling Places. CHAPTER II SUPREME ELECTORAL TRIBUNAL.

SUPREME ELECTORAL TRIBUNAL. It is the responsibility of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal to oversee everything related to electoral acts and procedures. Its composition, organization and operation shall be governed by what is established in the Constitution of the Republic and this Law.

PRESIDENCY OF THE SUPREME ELECTORAL TRIBUNAL. The Justices of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall elect from among themselves the President on a rotating basis for a term of one (1) year. The election of the President shall be made at the first session held and they may not be reelected until all have served as President.

TEMPORARY ABSENCES. In the event of absence of any of the Justices, the Alternate Justice shall be called to join. If the absence is of the President, the Justices shall elect from among themselves a provisional President.

PERMANENT ABSENCE. Permanent absence is understood as that which results from death, resignation, special or absolute disqualification, civil interdiction and incapacity due to illness or disability for more than one year. In this case the National Congress shall proceed with the election of the substitute. In accordance with Article 52 of the Constitution of the Republic. For the time necessary to complete the term of the replaced Justice.

RESOLUTIONS OF THE SUPREME ELECTORAL TRIBUNAL. The resolutions of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall be adopted by majority of votes; everything conducted in the sessions shall be recorded in numbered and sealed minutes, which shall be signed by all Justices and the General Secretary. None of the Justices may abstain from voting but may explain their vote. The minutes of each session shall be read, approved and signed in the next immediate session and in no case may a new agenda be heard without approving the minutes of the previous session.

VALIDITY OF SESSIONS. For their validity, the sessions of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall be convoked by the President, who shall include in said convocation the agenda, requiring that the full bench of Justices be present.

ATTRIBUTIONS OF THE SUPREME ELECTORAL TRIBUNAL. The attributions of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal are:

• 1)

  Issue regulations, instructions, agreements and resolutions for its operation;

• 2)

  Issue opinions or rulings that are legally required of it;

• 3)

  Register Political Parties, their authorities and candidates for positions of popular election and Alliances, Mergers and Independent Candidacies;

• 4)

  Require Political Parties, upon completion of each fiscal year, to present their financial statements and publish them;

• 5)

  Organize, direct, administer and oversee electoral processes;

• 6)

  Prepare, verify and publish the National Electoral Census;

• 7)

  Approve Electoral Schedules and the Electoral Security Plan;

• 8)

  Call for elections;

• 9)

  Approve and remit to the Departmental and Municipal Electoral Tribunals the documentation and electoral material;

• 10)

  Receive, custody and verify the documentation and electoral material used in electoral processes;

• 11)

  Disseminate preliminary scrutiny results;

• 12)

  Conduct the final scrutiny based on the closing documents signed by members of the Electoral Receiving Polling Places;

• 13)

  Require Political Parties, Alliances Internal Movements and Independent Candidacies to present Certifications of closing documents when the original does not appear or presents inconsistencies or alterations;

• 14)

  Issue credentials to elected candidates;

• 15)

  Know and resolve, as appropriate, on:

  • a)

    Total or partial nullity of votes and declaration of elections;

  • b)

    Complaints, denunciations or irregularities in electoral processes;

  • c)

    Recusations against tribunal magistrates and Members of Electoral Organizations;

  • d)

    Of the remedies filed, in accordance with this Law;

  • e)

    Of internal conflicts that arise in Political Parties, upon request of a party;

  • f)

    Cancellation of Registration of Political Parties, Alliances and Independent Candidacies, resignation and substitution of candidates for positions of popular election and authorities of Political Parties; and, g) Application of sanctions to Political Parties and their respective Internal Movements, Alliances and Independent Candidacies.

• 16)

  Annul on its own motion or upon request of a party, the registration of candidates for positions of popular election when those registered do not meet the requirements of Law;

• 17)

  Investigate on its own motion or upon request of a party the facts that constitute violations of Law, applying the corresponding sanctions and, if appropriate, formulate denunciations before the competent authorities;

• 18)

  Respond to consultations that are formulated by Political Parties or Independent Candidacies, Alliances, Candidates for positions of popular election or Electoral Organizations;

• 19)

  Execute its final resolutions;

• 20)

  Establish a system of electoral statistics;

• 21)

  Promote electoral civic education;

• 22)

  Approve contracts and agreements;

• 23)

  Determine the organization of the institution, creation, merger or suppression of departments, assigning them attributions and determining the requirements for the performance of positions; without prejudice to what is established in this Law;

• 24)

  Appoint, promote, remove, sanction the officials and employees of the Institution;

• 25)

  Prepare and approve the Budget Project of Income and Expenses for its remission to the National Congress;

• 26)

  Approve the Annual Operative Plan;

• 27)

  Present to the Legislative Branch an annual report of its activities;

• 28)

  Create Auxiliary Commissions;

• 29)

  Update the Electoral Geographic Political Division; and,

• 30)

  The others that this Law designates.

POWERS OF THE PRESIDING MAGISTRATE. The Presiding Magistrate of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall have the following powers:

• 1)

  To exercise the legal representation of the Tribunal, which may be delegated to any of the Magistrates;

• 2)

  To grant powers of representation;

• 3)

  To convene and preside over ordinary and extraordinary sessions and to suspend them when deemed necessary;

• 4)

  To promptly notify the Electoral Advisory Council when the agenda of the session includes electoral matters;

• 5)

  To set the agenda for sessions and to include matters requested by the Magistrates;

• 6)

  To authorize the books or registers determined by Law or by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal;

• 7)

  To supervise the functioning of the departments of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal;

• 8)

  To sign and seal the orders or decrees issued in the processing of records;

• 9)

  To authorize hours and days for the dispatch of urgent matters;

• 10)

  To integrate the Alternate Magistrate when any of the Magistrates is absent; and,

• 11)

  Such other powers as are granted by the Constitution and the Law.

COMMON DUTIES OF MAGISTRATES. The duties of the Magistrates shall be the following:

• 1)

  To resolve the matters submitted to their knowledge, in order of precedence;

• 2)

  To participate in the sessions of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal with the right to speak and vote;

• 3)

  To sign the resolutions, agreements and minutes that have been approved in the sessions; and,

• 4)

  To represent the Supreme Electoral Tribunal when delegated to do so by the Presiding Magistrate.

PROHIBITIONS ON MAGISTRATES. The Magistrates of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall not be able to:

• 1)

  Exercise their profession or occupation during the performance of their office, except teaching when it does not interfere with their functions;

• 2)

  Publicly express their opinion regarding matters that by law they are called upon to resolve;

• 3)

  Acquire assets of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal for themselves or for third parties;

• 4)

  Absent themselves from sessions without justified cause;

• 5)

  Refuse to sign the minutes, agreements and final resolutions of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal;

• 6)

  Direct congratulations or censure for their acts to public officials, authorities of Political Parties, their Internal Movements, Alliances, candidates for positions of popular election and Independent Candidacies;

• 7)

  Participate in political-party activities; and,

• 8)

  Participate in demonstrations or other public acts of a political-party character.

COMPOSITION. The Electoral Tribunals of the Departments shall be appointed by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal and shall be composed of one regular member and one alternate member proposed by each of the Political Parties, Alliances and Independent Candidacies, as applicable. They shall function in each departmental capital from four and a half months before and until one month after the date of the general elections. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall distribute the positions of President, Secretary and Members of the Departmental Electoral Tribunal equally among the Political Parties, Alliances and Independent Candidacies, as applicable. When, due to the number of registered Political Parties, Alliances and Independent Candidacies, the Departmental Electoral Tribunal is composed of an even number, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall appoint an additional regular member and their respective alternate, selecting them alternately from among the proposed candidates. Such alternation shall be established by lottery.

POWERS. The Electoral Tribunals of the Departments shall have the following powers:

• 1)

  To communicate their appointment to the members of the Municipal Electoral Tribunals;

• 2)

  To hear and resolve complaints related to electoral functions, against members of the Municipal Electoral Tribunals. The resolutions adopted on this matter shall be sent for consultation to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal;

• 3)

  To convene and preside over consultative meetings of the members of the Municipal Electoral Tribunals, when required by the importance of matters that must be discussed regarding the electoral process;

• 4)

  To hear matters submitted for consideration by the Municipal Electoral Tribunals;

• 5)

  To consult with the Supreme Electoral Tribunal on problems that arise regarding the exercise of their functions and the application of this Law;

• 6)

  To report to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal any irregularities of which they become aware; and,

• 7)

  To attend the consultative meetings agreed upon by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal; and,

• 8)

  Such other functions as are assigned by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.

COMPOSITION. In each municipal capital, a Municipal Electoral Tribunal shall be formed with one regular member and their respective alternate from each Political Party, Alliance and Independent Candidacies, as applicable. For this appointment, the Political Parties, Alliances and Independent Candidacies that participate in the electoral process shall propose candidates within ten (10) days following the date of notification issued for that purpose by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal. The Municipal Electoral Tribunals shall function from four (4) months before, until one (1) month after the date of the general elections.

FAILURE TO DESIGNATE MEMBERS. When one or more Political Parties, Alliances and Independent Candidacies have not designated members to compose the Municipal Electoral Tribunal, within the term specified by this Law, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, within ten (10) days following the expiration of such term, shall appoint citizens of the municipality to replace them.

FUNCTIONS. The Municipal Electoral Tribunals shall have the following functions:

• 1)

  To publicly exhibit the electoral rolls and all information related to the electoral process;

• 2)

  To receive electoral material from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal and to deliver it to the Electoral Polling Stations;

• 3)

  To receive the originals of the closing minutes of all Electoral Polling Stations together with all other documentation used in the electoral process; sending them immediately to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal. Simultaneously, after having received the last certified copy of said minutes, and based thereon, it shall conduct in special session a count of the results throughout the municipality, drawing up the respective municipal minute; sending it to the central office of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal under the established security mechanisms. A certified copy of the minute shall be delivered to the Political Parties, Alliances and Independent Candidacies participating in the process.

• 4)

  To notify the Supreme Electoral Tribunal of irregularities detected in the electoral rolls;

• 5)

  To supervise the locations where the Electoral Polling Stations of its jurisdiction shall be situated, in accordance with the instructions received from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal;

• 6)

  To comply with the instructions of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal in the preparation, oversight, guarantee and freedom of voting by citizens in its jurisdiction;

• 7)

  To support the training of members of the Electoral Polling Stations, and;

• 8)

  Any other function that the Tribunal or this Law may assign to it.

COMPOSITION. The Electoral Polling Stations shall be composed of one regular member and their respective alternate, proposed by each of the Political Parties, Alliances and Independent Candidacies that participate in the electoral process and appointed by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal. They shall exercise their offices independently from the authority that proposed them, subordinate to the law and respectful of the hierarchical relationship of the superior electoral bodies. If one of the alternates has to act in place of the regular member due to the latter's absence, they shall do so in the position that the absent member held in the Electoral Polling Station.

LOCATION. The Electoral Polling Stations shall be located in the Voting Centers in successive order determined by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal. At the entrance of the Voting Centers, the numbers of the Electoral Polling Stations shall be placed. In a visible place in each Electoral Polling Station, the number of the corresponding station shall be prominently displayed, as well as the first and last names of the citizens who shall vote at that station. The list of electors shall likewise be exhibited. If the Electoral Tribunal determines it, the Electoral Polling Stations may be set up in private locations, whose owners shall have the civic obligation to provide them for such purposes, with the costs of such installation being the responsibility of that electoral body.

INSTALLATION. In each Voting Center, Electoral Polling Stations shall be installed according to the number of registered electors at the time of closing registrations in the National Electoral Census. The Electoral Polling Station shall be opened with a minimum of one hundred (100) electors domiciled in the electoral sector and up to a maximum of five hundred (500) electors; provided that the Supreme Electoral Tribunal may, for reasons of geographic dispersion of populated areas or lack of access, authorize the opening of an Electoral Polling Station with a number of fewer than one hundred (100) electors.

DISTRIBUTION OF POSITIONS. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall distribute the positions of President, Secretary, Scrutineer and Members of the Electoral Polling Station equally among the Political Parties, Alliances and Independent Candidacies that participate in the elections. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall deliver the respective credentials twenty-five (25) days before the holding of the elections to the central authorities of the Political Parties and to the holders of independent candidacies. No member of the Electoral Polling Station may hold any position different or distinct from the one to which they were appointed by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.

INCORPORATION OF MEMBERS. The members of the Electoral Polling Stations shall assume their positions with the credentials issued to them by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal. The performance of functions in the Electoral Polling Stations is mandatory.

POWERS OF MEMBERS. The powers of the regular members of the Electoral Polling Stations are:

• 1)

  To respect and guarantee during the electoral day the free exercise, secrecy and effectiveness of voting;

• 2)

  To attend the voting center at five o'clock (5:00 A.M.) on the day set for the election;

• 3)

  To receive from the Municipal Electoral Tribunal the documents and electoral materials required for the practice of voting;

• 4)

  To draw up and sign the opening minute of the voting;

• 5)

  To take the measures required by the case, to maintain order during voting and the practice of the count;

• 6)

  To request, by majority vote, the assistance of the State Security Forces when necessary;

• 7)

  To admit duly accredited international observers;

• 8)

  To comply with the electoral instructions and other provisions issued by the Tribunal;

• 9)

  To resolve immediately and by majority vote the extension of voting in cases where it becomes necessary;

• 10)

  To draw up and sign the closing minute once the count has been conducted, and to deliver to the Municipal Electoral Tribunal, properly organized, all documents and electoral material;

• 11)

  To deliver a Certification of Results to each regular member of the Electoral Polling Station duly signed by all its members;

• 12)

  To resolve immediately by majority vote the electoral incidents raised by any of the members of the Electoral Polling Stations;

• 13)

  To communicate to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, immediately and through the President and Secretary, the result of the count conducted at each of the elective levels in accordance with what is stated in the Closing Minute of the Voting; and,

• 14)

  Any other power that the Supreme Electoral Tribunal may assign to it.

INFORMATION CENTERS. The Information Centers of the Political Parties, Alliances and Independent Candidacies shall not be installed less than fifty (50) meters from the Voting Centers or from other already authorized information centers. The violation of this provision shall result in the Municipal Electoral Tribunal proceeding to its immediate closure. In case of recidivism, criminal liability is incurred. The Municipal Electoral Tribunals shall regulate the equitable location of information centers.

DISTRIBUTION OF POSITIONS IN THE DEPARTMENTAL AND MUNICIPAL ELECTORAL COURTS. The Supreme Electoral Court shall distribute among the Political Parties, Alliances, and Independent Candidacies, as applicable, the positions of President, Secretary, and Members of the Departmental and Municipal Electoral Courts in an equitable manner at the national level.

REQUIREMENTS FOR MEMBERS. The members who make up the electoral bodies must be Hondurans by birth and citizens exercising their political and civil rights, with the exception of the members of the Electoral Reception Boards, who may be naturalized Hondurans. The members of the electoral bodies shall receive the salary assigned to them by the Supreme Electoral Court, with the exception of the members of the Electoral Reception Boards who shall perform their duties without compensation. The members of the Departmental and Municipal Electoral Courts may not hold positions in the management structures of Political Parties or Independent Candidacies at any level, nor may they participate in partisan activities while performing their duties.

DISQUALIFICATIONS. The following may not be members of the Electoral Bodies:

• 1)

  The holders and alternates of the Powers of the State and of Decentralized and Deconcentrated Institutions;

• 2)

  Public officials and employees;

• 3)

  Those in arrears with the Public Treasury;

• 4)

  Concessionaires of the State for the exploitation of natural resources or contractors of public services and works whose costs are funded with national funds;

• 5)

  Those disqualified by the Constitution of the Republic and special laws; and,

• 6)

  Citizens registered as candidates for elective office. The disqualification referred to in numeral 2) of this Article is not applicable to the members of the Electoral Reception Boards.

SUPERVENING DISQUALIFICATION. If, once the departmental or municipal electoral body has been installed, a disqualification arises with respect to any of its members according to what is established in the previous Article, the member in office affected by it shall excuse himself from that moment forward from any intervention in the electoral process.

QUORUM AND INCORPORATION OF SUBSTITUTES IN THE DEPARTMENTAL AND MUNICIPAL ELECTORAL COURTS. When the Departmental and Municipal Electoral Courts cannot meet due to the absence of a majority of their members, those who have attended, in whatever number they may be, shall immediately proceed to incorporate the substitutes of the absent members.

DECISION-MAKING. For the members of the Departmental and Municipal Electoral Courts and the Electoral Reception Boards to be able to make decisions, the presence of a majority of them shall be necessary. Resolutions shall be taken by majority vote of those present and in case of a tie, the President shall resolve with a casting vote.

PROHIBITION. Access is prohibited to the facilities where the electoral bodies function for any member who presents himself armed, in a state of intoxication, or under the effects of any other class of drug or narcotic substance.

OBLIGATION TO RESOLVE. The Departmental and Municipal Electoral Courts shall have the obligation to resolve within a period of ten (10) business days any request or initiative that is brought to their attention.

CAUSES FOR RESIGNATION. The following are causes for the resignation of the office of member of an Electoral Body:

• 1)

  Physical incapacity;

• 2)

  Domestic hardship;

• 3)

  Change of residence; and,

• 4)

  Acceptance of employment legally incompatible with the office.

CAUSES TO CEASE FUNCTIONS. The members of the electoral bodies shall cease their functions due to:

• 1)

  Resignation from office;

• 2)

  The disqualifications that this Law establishes;

• 3)

  Expiration of the period for which they were appointed; and,

• 4)

  Dismissal.

ELECTORAL CONSULTATIVE COUNCIL. Legally registered Political Parties shall accredit a delegate, as principal representative, and his respective substitute before the Supreme Electoral Court for the purpose of integrating the Electoral Consultative Council as a permanent instance of consultation and collaboration. Among its functions shall be the observation of electoral processes and the channeling of complaints or claims. The Electoral Consultative Council, on its own initiative in matters of its competence or at the request of the Supreme Electoral Court, shall formulate the respective recommendations. Independent candidacies at the presidential level, once registered, may accredit a representative before the Electoral Consultative Council and this shall function until the conclusion of the electoral process. The Political Parties that make up the Electoral Consultative Council shall have monthly rights to a copy on magnetic media of the Census that begins on the date of the call for General Elections and concludes with the holding thereof for the purpose of verifying that the purging process is carried out effectively and that the Electoral Consultative Council issues its observations to the Supreme Electoral Court.

PARTICIPATION OF THE ELECTORAL CONSULTATIVE COUNCIL. The members of the Electoral Consultative Council may participate in the sessions of the Supreme Electoral Court, when electoral matters are involved, with the right to speak but without voting, performing their functions on a pro bono basis.

NATIONAL ELECTORAL CENSUS. The National Electoral Census is the duly organized register of citizens with capacity to vote that shall be elaborated in accordance with the Law.

IDENTITY CARD. For the purposes of this Law, the Identity Card is the authentic document that permits the registration of the citizen in the National Electoral Census.

ELABORATION OF THE NATIONAL ELECTORAL CENSUS. For the elaboration of the National Electoral Census, the National Registry of Persons shall provide the Supreme Electoral Court, in a permanent, timely, and gratuitous manner, all the information of citizens, by department, municipality, and Voting Center to whom their identity card has been issued. One copy of the information provided shall be filed in the Supreme Electoral Court through documentary and electronic records and another copy in the vault of the Central Bank of Honduras; furthermore, a copy shall be delivered to each of the legally registered Political Parties. The Supreme Electoral Court shall make available to the citizenry, in a permanent manner, the National Electoral Census through electronic consultation systems, and may, for this purpose, publish the access mechanisms.

GUARANTEE OF SUFFRAGE FOR HONDURANS ABOUT TO TURN EIGHTEEN (18) YEARS OF AGE. Hondurans who are about to turn eighteen (18) years of age before the date on which general elections are to be held may present, for electoral purposes, an application for their identity card before the National Registry of Persons, from the time they turn seventeen (17) years until five (5) months before the date of the general elections. Identity Cards shall be issued for delivery from the day they turn eighteen (18) years of age. CHAPTER II PROVISIONAL AND DEFINITIVE LISTS.

PROVISIONAL AND DEFINITIVE LISTS. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall prepare the provisional and definitive lists of voters with their updated address in accordance with the Electoral Geographic Political Division. The lists shall contain at least the following data: 1) The heading shall be titled with the legend: Provisional or Definitive Lists of Voters as the case may be, Department, Municipality, Electoral Sector, Polling Center and number of Receiving Electoral Board; and, 2) In the list shall be recorded: surnames and names in alphabetical order, identity card number, bar code and the box for the signature or fingerprint of the voter.

PREPARATION OF PROVISIONAL LISTS. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall issue and display the provisional list of voters six (6) months before the holding of primary and general elections; said lists shall be prepared based on the files of identities issued as well as applications to date. The list shall also include young people under eighteen (18) years of age who acquire their citizenship until one day before the holding of such elections and who have timely requested their identity card. A copy of the list shall be delivered to the Political Parties on the same dates on which their registration begins.

DISPLAY OF PROVISIONAL LISTS. The provisional lists shall be disclosed by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal through the publication of lists displayed in its central, departmental and municipal offices and on an electronic webpage on the Internet created for this purpose. They may also be displayed in the Municipal Mayoralties, the Municipal Electoral Tribunals, the Municipal Civil Registries, the Polling Centers, the Political Party Headquarters and any other suitable public place, so that starting from the end of the period of display and until seventy-five (75) days before the date on which primary and general elections are held, citizens may present claims for any omission or irregularities in the preparation of the National Electoral Census.

PURGING OF LISTS. The purging of voter lists is permanent; however, for electoral purposes, it shall be concluded two and a half months before the holding of primary and general elections. Exclusions of citizen registrations shall proceed when any of the following circumstances occur:

• 1)

  The deceased or declared by court judgment presumptively deceased;

• 2)

  Duplicate registrations, keeping the first one in effect;

• 3)

  Registrations made fraudulently declared by competent judge by final judgment; and,

• 4)

  Those others established by the Constitution of the Republic.

INFORMATION FROM THE POWERS OF STATE. The Powers of State shall provide periodic reports to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal on cases of disqualification, rehabilitation, loss or suspension of citizenship, naturalization and on members of the National Police and the Armed Forces, excepting auxiliary personnel.

MODIFICATION OF LISTS. Citizens who do not appear registered in the National Electoral Census may request their registration at any time, except during the two and a half months prior to the date on which primary and general elections are held. Any citizen may request, in the same period, that registrations that warrant it be cancelled from the voter lists in accordance with what is established in this Law. Whoever having been registered and it is proven that he is not Honduran, shall be excluded from the National Electoral Census, must inform the corresponding authority.

REMEDY OF RECONSIDERATION FOR CANCELLATION OF REGISTRATION. Against the cancellation of registrations in the National Electoral Census, the remedy of reconsideration may be filed before the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, which shall resolve within a period of ten (10) business days.

DEFINITIVE LISTS. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal, two (2) months before the holding of primary and general elections, shall have prepared the list of voters for immediate delivery in electronic format to the Political Parties, Internal Movements or Independent Candidates, as the case may be, and within fifteen (15) days after the previously indicated period shall additionally deliver them in printed form. Copies of the definitive lists that shall be sent to the Receiving Electoral Boards by means of the definitive lists that shall be sent to the Receiving Electoral Boards by means of the Municipal Electoral Tribunals shall be printed within the same period. TITLE IV POLITICAL GEOGRAPHIC DIVISION, HOME VOTING AND VOTING ABROAD CHAPTER I ELECTORAL GEOGRAPHIC DIVISION

ELECTORAL POLITICAL GEOGRAPHIC DIVISION. Electoral Political Geographic Division is the distribution of the electoral population at national, departmental, municipal and sectorial levels, respecting their geographic limits, subdividing them into smaller territorial and population units to which the name Electoral Sectors is given. The Electoral Political Division shall be updated permanently by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal. No change may be made three (3) months before the date on which general elections are held, except in case of force majeure or act of God qualified by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.

ELECTORAL SECTOR. Electoral Sector is a town or group of towns grouped in accordance with the following requirements:

• 1)

  Number of voters equal to or greater than one hundred (100);

• 2)

  Proximity and geographic continuity among the towns; and,

• 3)

  One of the towns of the Electoral Sector must be at an accessible point from the rest, with road access and have an appropriate building to which the name Polling Center shall be given, where the Receiving Electoral Boards shall be installed.

CAUSES TO CREATE OR MODIFY ELECTORAL SECTORS. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal may create or modify Electoral Sectors for the following causes:

• 1)

  Impossibility of vehicular access;

• 2)

  Geographic dispersion of towns;

• 3)

  Destruction, burial of towns or migration of their inhabitants; and,

• 4)

  Growth or decrease of population. CHAPTER II HOME VOTING

HOME VOTING. Home voting is the modality that allows the citizen to exercise the right to vote in the Receiving Electoral Board with greater ease of access and geographic proximity to his address.

VOTING AT THE POLLING CENTER. Voters domiciled in the towns that make up an electoral sector shall exercise their right to vote at the Polling Center of their Sector.

UPDATE OF ADDRESS. The citizen may request a change of electoral address registration only in those cases in which he resides or is originally from the Municipality for which he requests the change, and must make the request personally before the office of the Municipal Civil Registry of his new electoral address. The citizen who requests a change of electoral address outside of the two (2) previous cases shall incur in an electoral offense. The procedure for the request shall be in accordance with what is prescribed in the Law of the National Registry of Persons and its Regulations. No official or employee of the National Registry of Persons may refuse to process the request for change of electoral address, except that the applicant does not meet the legal requirements. It is prohibited for the National Registry of Persons to effect, on its own initiative, a change of electoral address. It is prohibited to effect changes of electoral address during the period comprised in the four (4) months prior to the date of the holding of primary and general elections. The official or employee who fails to comply with what is provided in this Article shall incur in an electoral offense. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall disclose through mass media of national coverage, the content of this Article. CHAPTER III VOTING OF HONDURANS RESIDING ABROAD

VOTING OF HONDURANS ABROAD. Nationals residing abroad shall only exercise the right to vote for the election of President and Vice President of the Republic in general elections; these shall be held on the same day as those conducted in Honduras, within the timeframe between 6:00 hours and 16:00 hours local time of the city where they are held. TITLE V POLITICAL PARTIES

CHAPTER I CONSTITUTION AND REGISTRATION OF POLITICAL PARTIES

NATURE. Political Parties are institutions of public law and enjoy the rights established in the Constitution of the Republic, this Law, their bylaws and regulations.

CONSTITUTION. The constitution of Political Parties is free. A number not less than fifty (50) Honduran citizens in full exercise of their political rights may appear before a notary public manifesting their intention to establish a Political Party and requesting that this be recorded in a Notarial Act. The Act shall contain the name under which it will operate, in compliance with the provisions of the Constitution and this Law.

AFFILIATION. Citizens have the right to freely affiliate with or withdraw from Political Parties.

REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS. In order to obtain registration, political parties shall present to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal their application accompanied by the following documents:

• 1)

  Testimony of the Notarial Act of constitution;

• 2)

  Declaration of principles;

• 3)

  Description and drawing of the emblem of the Political Party and indication of the name under which it will function;

• 4)

  Program of political action;

• 5)

  Bylaws;

• 6)

  Accreditation that the political party has the organization of its municipal and departmental authorities in more than half of the total municipalities and departments of the country; and, 7) List of citizens supporting the application, equivalent to two percent (2%) of the total valid votes cast in the last general election at the presidential elective level. It shall be presented by municipality in two (2) originals with the names and surnames of the citizens, identity card number, fingerprint, current address and signature, the latter when they are able to provide it.

SUITABLE PERIOD FOR REGISTRATION.

The application for registration of Political Parties may be presented and approved at any time, except in the election year.

DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES. The declaration of principles shall contain:

• 1)

  The obligation to comply with the Constitution and the laws;

• 2)

  The ideological principles of a political, economic and social character that it upholds; and,

• 3)

  The obligation to achieve its objectives through democratic, representative and participatory means, to respect the will of majorities and not to subordinate its actions to directives of national or foreign entities, public or private, that threaten the sovereignty and independence—economic, political and cultural—of the State, its democratic and representative form of government and the constituted authorities.

PROGRAM OF ACTION. The Program of Action shall determine the measures to:

• 1)

  Realize the postulates and achieve the objectives stated in its declaration of principles;

• 2)

  Propose policies in order to resolve national problems; and,

• 3)

  Provide ideological and political training to its members.

BYLAWS. Political Parties shall be free to introduce their own norms in their bylaws and to issue their Regulations through their competent body, observing what is prescribed in the Constitution of the Republic and this Law; however, the bylaws shall necessarily comprise the following:

• 1)

  The name of the Political Party itself, the emblem and the color or colors that characterize and differentiate it from other Political Parties;

• 2)

  The procedures for the affiliation of its members, their rights and obligations. Among the rights shall be included that of their participation through delegates in assemblies or conventions, and the ability to be members of the governing bodies.

• 3)

  The democratic procedures for the integration and renewal of the governing bodies as well as the functions and obligations thereof. Among its bodies it must have at least:

  • a)

    A National Convention or its equivalent;

  • b)

    A National Council, National Committee or its equivalent;

  • c)

    Councils, Committees or their equivalent at the departmental and municipal levels;

  • d)

    A body responsible for the administration of its property and financial resources and the presentation of annual ordinary and campaign income and expense reports;

  • e)

    A body responsible for political and ideological training;

  • f)

    A Court of Honor or its equivalent;

• 4)

  The Norms for the democratic nomination of its candidates;

• 5)

  The obligation to present an electoral platform for each election in which it participates, sustained in its declaration of principles and program of action;

• 6)

  The obligation of its candidates to uphold and disseminate the electoral platform during the electoral campaign in which they participate; and,

• 7)

  The sanctions applicable to members who violate its internal provisions and the means and procedures of defense. CHAPTER II RIGHTS, OBLIGATIONS AND PROHIBITIONS

RIGHTS. The rights of Political Parties are:

• 1)

  To participate in the preparation, development and oversight of the electoral process in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and this Law;

• 2)

  To enjoy the guarantees that the Constitution and this Law grant them to freely carry out their activities;

• 3)

  To enjoy the prerogatives and receive public and private financing on the terms established in this Law;

• 4)

  To nominate candidates in primary and general elections for elective offices, on the terms established in this Law;

• 5)

  To organize or recognize within themselves Internal Movements, Alliances and Mergers;

• 6)

  To propose to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal the members of the Electoral Bodies;

• 7)

  To obtain from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal copies of the preliminary and final lists of voters registered in the National Electoral Census. To obtain information at any date about the progress of new registrations and exclusions;

• 8)

  To establish relations with foreign political organizations or parties while maintaining their political and economic independence, as well as unrestricted respect for the integrity and sovereignty of the State; and,

• 9)

  Such other rights as this Law grants them.

OBLIGATIONS. The obligations of Political Parties are:

• 1)

  To conduct their activities in accordance with the Law and the principles of the democratic State;

• 2)

  To guarantee to their members, through their statutory provisions, the right of direct or representative participation in the election of their authorities and their candidates for elective office;

• 3)

  To comply with their membership norms and observe the procedures established in their bylaws for the nomination of candidates.

• 4)

  To have a legal address and communicate to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal any changes thereof;

• 5)

  To communicate to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal any modification to its declaration of principles, programs of action or bylaws within the twenty (20) days following the date on which the corresponding agreement is reached by the Political Party. The modifications shall not take effect until the Tribunal declares the constitutional and legal appropriateness thereof. The resolution shall be issued within a period not exceeding thirty (30) days counted from the date of presentation of the corresponding documentation. The political party shall make the publication in the Official Gazette La Gaceta; and,

• 6)

  Such other obligations as this Law establishes.

PROHIBITIONS. Political Parties and their Internal Movements and Alliances are prohibited from:

• 1)

  Attacking the republican, democratic and representative system of government;

• 2)

  Using National Symbols in publicity and propaganda;

• 3)

  Maintaining dependence or subordination to foreign Political Parties, natural or juridical persons, international organizations or entities, and ministers of worship of any religion or sect;

• 4)

  Resorting to violence or to any act intended to alter public order, disturb the enjoyment of guarantees or prevent the regular functioning of State Institutions;

• 5)

  Using any expression that denigrates citizens, public institutions or other Political Parties and their candidates;

• 6)

  Using religious symbols, as well as expressions, allusions or justifications of a religious character or its propaganda;

• 7)

  Nominating the same citizen for more than one elective office; and,

• 8)

  Involving children and adolescents in electoral propaganda and in other forms that violate the laws and international treaties on the rights of childhood, except when it is a matter of projecting the image of the family group of the candidates. Violators of what is prescribed in this Article shall be sanctioned with a fine of five (5) to twenty (20) minimum wages, without prejudice to the criminal responsibility that may correspond. CHAPTER III REGISTRATION PROCEDURES

COMPARISON OF LISTS AND OBJECTIONS. Upon receipt of the application for registration of a Political Party in accordance with Article 65 of this Law, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall, within the period of twenty (20) business days, compare the lists or documents presented with the National Electoral Census and other relevant records. Upon completion of the comparison, the lists shall be exhibited for two months in the offices of the Municipal Civil Registry offices and in the headquarters of the citizens supporting the application.

PERIOD FOR CLAIMS. Claims shall be made within the exhibition period specified in the Previous Article. The Municipal Civil Registry offices and the Central Governing Bodies of registered Political Parties must immediately send to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal any formal claims that citizens may have filed regarding the improper use of their name in the lists.

RESOLUTION OF CLAIMS. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall resolve claims within the fifteen (15) days following the expiration of the period indicated in the previous article.

ISSUANCE OF REGISTRATION RESOLUTION. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall issue the resolution of registration of the Political Party within a period of eight (8) business days. When the requirements have been met and there are no claims or objections.

PROCEDURES FOR OBJECTIONS OR CHALLENGES TO REGISTRATION. If objections or challenges have been made to the registration application, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall order the case file to be opened for evidence for a period of twenty (20) business days to propose and execute the same. After the evidence period has elapsed, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall resolve within the following fifteen (15) days. Against the resolution issued, the Remedy of Amparo may be filed before the Supreme Court of Justice.

REGISTRATION. Once registration is approved, the Supreme Tribunal shall deliver to the interested parties a copy of the resolution for its publication in the Official Gazette La Gaceta; once this is effected, the registration of the Political Party shall proceed.

LEGAL PERSONALITY. A Political Party acquires its legal personality upon being registered by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal and its registration being published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta.

DISTINCTIVE MARKS. Political Parties shall be distinguished by their own names, emblems, mottos or slogans and insignia and shall have the right of priority to be registered. These distinctive marks may be equal or similar to those of other Political Parties, national symbols, allegories representative of the nation, names of persons or religious emblems, and shall not contravene the legal equality of Hondurans. Those who violate what is established in this Article shall be sanctioned with a fine of TWENTY (20) to FIFTY (50) MINIMUM SALARIES. CHAPTER IV PATRIMONY AND FINANCIAL REGIME OF POLITICAL PARTIES

PATRIMONY OF POLITICAL PARTIES. The patrimony of Political Parties shall comprise:

• 1)

  Public financing granted by the State;

• 2)

  Political Debt;

• 3)

  Contributions, donations, inheritances, and legacies in their favor; and,

• 4)

  Any other lawful income.

POLITICAL DEBT. Political Debt is the contribution granted by the State to Political Parties for the financing of the electoral process in accordance with the number of valid votes obtained by each Political Party that participated in the general elections. The State, through the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, shall make effective to the Political Parties and Independent Candidacies that participate in the general elections, the sum of TWENTY LEMPIRAS (L.20.00) for each valid vote obtained at the most voted elective level by each valid vote obtained at the most voted elective level. No Political Party may receive less than fifteen percent (15%) of the sum assigned to the Political Party that obtains the greatest total number of votes, unless it has obtained fewer than ten thousand (10,000) votes at its most voted level. Disbursements shall be made simultaneously in the name of each Political Party in the following manner: a first installment, no later than fifteen (15) days after the call for elections for an amount equivalent to sixty percent (60%) of the corresponding total fee calculated based on the results of the previous electoral process, and a second installment for an amount equivalent to the remaining forty percent (40%), calculated based on the final results of the election, which shall be delivered in the first quarter of the post-electoral year. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall request from the State Department of Finance, for each electoral process, the modification of the value corresponding to Political Debt, in accordance with the inflation index indicated by the Central Bank of Honduras, in order to ensure that the State's contribution will be in accordance with the actual expenses incurred by Political Parties.

PROHIBITION OF ACCEPTING UNAUTHORIZED FUNDS. It is strictly prohibited for Political Parties, Internal Movements and their candidates for positions of popular election to Accept directly or indirectly:

• 1)

  Anonymous contributions or donations, except those obtained in popular collections;

• 2)

  Contributions or donations from officials and employees of the centralized and decentralized Public Administration, without prior authorization of these;

• 3)

  Contributions from executive directors or partners of commercial enterprises that have concessions with the State and those that exploit games of chance or are linked to unlawful commercial activities, this prohibition extends to parent companies, subsidiaries, branches and private individuals;

• 4)

  Grants or Subsidies from Foreign Government, Organizations or institutions; and,

• 5)

  Contributions or donations from Foreign Natural or Legal Persons, whatever the form in which they act. Those who violate any of the prohibitions enumerated in this article shall be sanctioned with a fine equivalent to double the amount proven to have been received.

REGISTRATION AND NOTIFICATION OF CONTRIBUTIONS. All private contributions in cash or in kind must be registered in the accounting books of the Parties. Contributions and donations exceeding ONE HUNDRED TWENTY (120) Minimum Salaries shall be notified to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal. Non-compliance with what is stipulated in this Article shall be sanctioned with a fine of double the registered value the first time and triple the amount not registered the second time.

DEPOSITS OF FUNDS. Party Funds shall be deposited in institutions of the national financial system, in their name and at the order of the authorities determined by their bylaws or regulations.

PRIVATE CONTRIBUTIONS FOR ELECTORAL CAMPAIGNS OF CANDIDATES. Within the aforementioned limits, private contributions for electoral campaigns shall be channeled and accounted for by the Political Party that nominated the candidate.

ACCOUNTING SYSTEM AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS. Political Parties shall establish Accounting Systems that allow efficient control of their financial operations and shall present to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal reports of income and expenses with details of the origin and destination thereof. The reports shall contain the General Balance and the Statement of Results, duly audited for each annual fiscal period and separately for each electoral process. Political Parties shall preserve all supporting documentation for five (5) years. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall publish mandatory annual financial statements in a written medium of national circulation. CHAPTER V ALLIANCES AND FUSION OF POLITICAL PARTIES.

ALLIANCES BETWEEN POLITICAL PARTIES. Political Parties may form total or partial alliances, preserving their legal personality and partisan identity.

TOTAL ALLIANCE AND PARTIAL ALLIANCE. A Total Alliance is one in which Political Parties nominate the same candidates at the three (3) elective levels and under the same government program, in which case they shall accredit a single representative before the electoral bodies. A partial alliance is one in which common candidates are nominated only in some or any of the elective levels or in any department or municipality. In this case, Political Parties shall retain the right to accredit representatives in the electoral bodies of the places where they do not present common candidacies.

CONDITIONS OF THE ALLIANCE. The conditions of political Alliances shall be practiced in writing, indicating the name, emblem, political ideology, plan of political action, government program, respecting the principle of national integration, distribution of positions of popular election, public financing and other agreements under which they shall act. They must be registered before the Supreme Electoral Tribunal no later than six months before the holding of general elections and published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta.

MERGER OF POLITICAL PARTIES. Political Parties may merge for the purpose of constituting a single Political Party. The merger may be full or by absorption. In both cases their effects are irreversible, as of the registration of the respective agreement in the Supreme Electoral Court. The citizens who, as of the date of registration of the agreement, are affiliated with the merged or absorbed Parties shall be considered affiliated with the new Political Party or with the Party benefited by the merger and shall retain the rights derived from that condition.

FULL MERGER. Full merger has as its purpose the creation of a new political party; for its registration, the new Political Party shall comply with the requirements established in Title V, Chapters I, II, and III of this Law, except the list of affiliated members.

EFFECTS OF FULL MERGER. When it concerns a request for registration of a full merger agreement, the Supreme Electoral Court shall resolve immediately and, if appropriate, shall order the cancellation of the merged Parties and that the registration procedure for the new Political Party be initiated.

MERGER BY ABSORPTION. Merger by absorption is that in which one or more registered Political Parties merge in favor of another, without thereby creating a new Political Party, in which case the absorbing Political Party shall subsist and the absorbed Political Parties shall disappear.

EFFECTS OF MERGER BY ABSORPTION. When it concerns a request for registration of a merger agreement by absorption and once any defects have been remedied, if any, the Supreme Electoral Court shall order publication in the Official Gazette, La Gaceta, of the agreement, for the purpose that within thirty (30) calendar days oppositions may be filed. Once that term has elapsed, the Court shall resolve what is appropriate. In case of resolving favorably the request for registration, the cancellation of the registration of the absorbed Political Parties shall be ordered and only the registration in favor of the absorbing Political Party shall be retained. CHAPTER VI CANCELLATION OF REGISTRATION OF POLITICAL PARTIES

CANCELLATION. The Supreme Electoral Court shall cancel the registration of a Political Party in the following cases:

• 1)

  As a consequence of its merger with another Political Party, except the absorbing party in its case;

• 2)

  At the request of the Political Party itself, as stipulated in its bylaws;

• 3)

  When it is proven that it obtained its registration through fraud or that it has incurred in violation of the provisions contained in Title V, Chapters I, II, and III of this Law;

• 4)

  When it has not obtained in the general elections for elective offices at least two percent (2%) of the total valid votes, taking as a basis the elective level of greatest votes obtained, except in the case that the Political Party obtains at least one Deputy to the National Congress; and,

• 5)

  For not participating directly in a general election process, except in case of alliance. Any of the foregoing causes shall produce by operation of law the dissolution of the Political Party; however, the cancellation of the registration of a Political Party may not be agreed upon within the six (6) months prior to general elections.

REMEDIES AGAINST CANCELLATION OF REGISTRATION. Against the resolution of cancellation of the legal personality of a Political Party, only the remedy of amparo shall be admissible. TITLE VI REQUIREMENTS OF ELIGIBILITY AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES CHAPTER I REQUIREMENTS TO RUN FOR ELECTIVE OFFICE

PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT AND DEPUTIES TO THE NATIONAL CONGRESS. To be eligible for the positions of President and Vice President of the Republic, Deputies to the National Congress, what is provided for in the Constitution of the Republic shall be observed.

DEPUTIES TO THE CENTRAL AMERICAN PARLIAMENT. To be elected Deputy to the Central American Parliament, it is required to fulfill the conditions of eligibility that correspond to Deputies to the National Congress, and not to be included in their ineligibilities.

MUNICIPAL CORPORATION. To be a member of a Municipal Corporation it is required:

• 1)

  To be a Honduran born in the municipality or to be residing consecutively in the same for more than five (5) years;

• 2)

  To be of age eighteen years or older;

• 3)

  Citizen in full exercise of his civil and political rights; and,

• 4)

  To be able to read and write.

INELIGIBILITIES TO BE A MEMBER OF A MUNICIPAL CORPORATION. Citizens included in Article 199 of the Constitution of the Republic may not be members of Municipal Corporations, nor may the spouse and relatives within the second degree of consanguinity and first degree of affinity of numeral 7) of the cited article. Nor may the spouse and relatives within the second degree of consanguinity and first degree of affinity be members of the same Municipal Corporation.

TERM OF OFFICE OF MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS. Members of Municipal Corporations shall be elected for a term of four (4) years, counted from January twenty-five (25) following the date of the election; they shall take their Oath of Law before the outgoing Mayor, before one of the Justices of the Peace of the respective jurisdiction or before the Political Governor.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES. The State guarantees participatory democracy and the full exercise of citizen rights by both men and women, in equal opportunities. Political Parties must create the material conditions that allow real incorporation of women in all aspects of party life.

GUARANTEE AGAINST DISCRIMINATION. The State through the Supreme Electoral Court shall ensure that in the government structures of Political Parties and in candidacies for elective office, there is no discrimination based on gender, race, religion, and any other form of discrimination. To guarantee non-discrimination based on gender, Political Parties shall approve internally, with the participation of women, a gender equity policy whose compliance shall be supervised by the Supreme Electoral Court. Political parties shall be obligated to present to the Court a report of compliance with the gender equity policy six (6) months before the call for internal and primary elections. Violation by Political Parties of compliance with the gender equity policy shall be sanctioned with a fine equivalent to five percent (5%) of the political debt.

EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION IN ELECTIVE POSITIONS. To achieve effective participation of women, a minimum base of thirty percent (30%) is established, applicable to positions of leadership of Political Parties, principal and alternate Deputies to the National Congress, to the Central American Parliament, Mayors, Vice Mayors, and Aldermen. In those departments where the distribution falls on a single Deputy, the present provisions shall not be applicable. TITLE VII INTERNAL ELECTIONS AND PRIMARY ELECTIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES CHAPTER I INTERNAL ELECTIONS

PARTICIPATION. The Political Parties, in compliance with this Law, must conduct internal electoral processes to elect their authorities. The systems and mechanisms for carrying out such processes shall be at the discretion of the Political Parties and must be set forth in their bylaws and regulations.

NOTICE. Six (6) months prior to the date of celebration of internal elections, the Central Authorities of the Political Parties shall issue notice to their affiliates so that they register the internal movements through which they will participate in the process.

REQUIREMENTS OF INTERNAL MOVEMENTS. For an internal movement of a Political Party to be able to participate in internal elections, it must register with the central authority, no later than four (4) months before the date of the election, the slates of candidates for positions of authority at the national, departmental and municipal levels, as well as for conventions or delegates, as the case may be, in accordance with what is prescribed in its bylaws, in more than half of the departments and municipalities of the Republic. Once the deadline has expired, the Central Authority of the Political Party shall immediately notify the Supreme Electoral Tribunal of the existence or non-existence of internal movements. If no challenge has been filed within five (5) days following notification, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal must immediately communicate this to the central authority of the Political Party. In case of challenge, it shall be processed summarily and the resolution shall be communicated to the central authority of the Political Party.

DIRECT REQUEST FOR REGISTRATION WITH THE SUPREME ELECTORAL TRIBUNAL. If the Central Authority, within the prescribed period, has not sent the request, documents and reports to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, the internal movement, within the following five (5) calendar days, may request its registration directly with the Tribunal, presenting the sealed copy of the documentation and the slate of candidates for positions of Party Authority presented to the Central Authority of the Political Party. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall require the Central Authority of the Political Party to remit the original documentation and shall resolve the foregoing.

NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION. For the conduct, organization, direction and supervision of internal elections, the central authority of the Political Parties shall constitute a National Electoral Commission with equal representation of all registered movements. If the Electoral Commission is composed of an even number, the central authority of the Political Party shall appoint an additional representative. Said Commission must be constituted within ten (10) days following the expiration of the registration period for internal movements.

DECLARATION OF ELECTION. Once the internal elections have been held, the National Electoral Commission shall declare elected the citizens who correspond and shall register them with the Central Authority of the respective Political Party and shall notify the Supreme Electoral Tribunal thereof. Once registered, the Political Party shall publish this in the Official Gazette, La Gaceta.

REMEDIES AGAINST INTERNAL ELECTIONS. Against the resolutions of the National Electoral Commission and the results of internal elections, the legal remedies established before its authorities may be filed and, where applicable, before the Supreme Electoral Tribunal. CHAPTER II PRIMARY ELECTIONS

CONDUCT OF PRIMARY ELECTIONS. Political Parties are obligated to conduct primary elections for the selection of their candidates for elective office, which shall be held on the third Sunday of February of the electoral year. The primary elections shall be conducted under the direction, control and supervision of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal with the support of the National Electoral Commission of the respective Political Party.

LISTS FOR ELECTIVE OFFICE. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall deliver to the Political Parties the lists of positions of elective office to be chosen, at the national, departmental and municipal levels, eight (8) months before the celebration of the primary elections, so that these parties may make such lists known to the internal movements. The positions of elective office are:

• 1)

  President and Vice President of the Republic;

• 2)

  Deputies to the Central American Parliament;

• 3)

  Deputies to the National Congress; and,

• 4)

  Members of the Municipal Corporations.

CALL FOR PRIMARY ELECTIONS. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall issue the call for primary elections six (6) months before the date of their celebration.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE REGISTRATION OF MOVEMENTS. The internal movements that register candidates for the formula of President and Vice President of the Republic, slate of candidates for Deputies to the Central American Parliament and slates of candidates for Deputies to the National Congress and Members of the Municipal Corporations, in more than half of the departments and municipalities of the country, shall have the right to participate in primary elections. The internal movements must present a list of citizens who support their registration containing: Identity Card number, names and surnames, address, signature or fingerprint, in a number not less than two point zero percent (2.0%) of the total valid votes obtained by the respective Political Party, in the elective level with the highest voting, in the last general election. The lists must include the name of the Political Party and Internal Movement as well as the Department and municipality where the citizens who support the registration reside.

REQUEST FOR REGISTRATION OF CANDIDATES. The request for registration of candidates for elective office shall be presented to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal through the Central Authority of the respective Political Party and must contain:

• 1)

  Name of the Internal Movement, insignia, emblem and photograph of the presidential candidate of each internal movement;

• 2)

  Slates of the proposed citizens, indicating names and surnames, identity card number, recent photograph when applicable and the position for which they are running;

• 3)

  Proof of Residency for the case of one who was not born in the department or municipality for which he is running. The slates shall be presented complete and the candidates must meet the conditions of eligibility required by Law. The presentation of slates to the Central Authority of the Political Party shall be made in original and copy no later than four (4) months before the primary elections. The Central Authority of the Political Party shall seal and return the copy to the Internal Movement and shall send the original, with supporting documents, to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal within twenty (20) calendar days following the date of its presentation, with a reasoned report of the legal conditions of eligibility of the candidates.

NON-EXISTENCE OF MOVEMENTS IN CONTENTION. If there is no movement in contention, the central authority of the Political Party shall immediately notify the Supreme Electoral Tribunal and if within five (5) days following said notification, no challenge has been filed, it shall be processed summarily and the resolution shall be communicated to the central authority of the Political Party, registering the challenger if procedent.

DEADLINES TO RESOLVE ON THE REGISTRATION OF CANDIDATES. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall resolve the foregoing within twenty (20) calendar days following the presentation of the request for registration of candidates by the Central Authority of the respective Political Party.

DIRECT REQUEST FOR REGISTRATION WITH THE SUPREME ELECTORAL TRIBUNAL. If the Central Authority, within the prescribed period, has not sent the request, documents and reports to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, the internal movement, within the following five (5) calendar days, may request its registration directly with the Tribunal, presenting the sealed copy of the documentation and the slate of candidates for elective office presented to the Central Authority of the Political Party. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall require the Central Authority of the Political Party to remit the original documentation and shall resolve the foregoing within fifteen (15) calendar days following the date of presentation of the request.

LOCATION OF MOVEMENTS ON BALLOTS. Upon the completion of the registration deadline, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall establish the order in which the movements shall be placed on the electoral ballots, by means of a draw for each Political Party, valid for all elective levels.

SEPARATE BALLOTS AND BALLOT BOXES. Political Parties shall use separate ballots and ballot boxes for each elective level. The ballot used at the presidential level shall contain the photograph of the candidates for President and Vice President of the internal movements and below the formula a space shall be left for the elector to make a mark. The ballot used at the level of Deputy to the National Congress for each Department shall contain in vertical form and on the left margin, the name, insignia, emblem or photograph of the candidate in the order established by each movement. Below the photograph of each candidate for Deputy a space shall be left for the elector to make a mark for the candidate of his preference. The use of the name, insignia, emblem or photograph of the presidential candidate of each Movement shall be determined according to the consensus reached by the Movements and in case of failure to reach agreement, the criterion of each Internal Movement shall prevail. The ballot used at the level of municipal corporations shall contain the photograph of the candidates that make up the formula of Mayor and Vice-Mayor of each municipality of each movement and below the formulas a space shall be left for the elector to make a mark.

DEVELOPMENT OF PRIMARY ELECTIONS. The development of primary elections shall be conducted in accordance with what is established in Title XI, Chapters III and IV of this Law insofar as applicable.

MANNER OF MARKING BALLOTS. Electors may make only one mark on the ballot corresponding to the presidential elective level and municipal corporations in the space that corresponds to the formula of their preference. On the ballot corresponding to the elective level of Deputies to the National Congress they shall place a number not exceeding the number of seats to be elected; if the number of marks be greater the vote shall be null. When the number of marks is less, only the selected candidates shall be credited.

INTEGRATION AND DECLARATION OF ELECTED CANDIDATES. After the primary elections have been held, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall integrate and declare elected the candidates to positions of popular election in the following manner:

• 1)

  The Presidential formula shall be the one that results by simple majority of votes;

• 2)

  The slate of candidates for Owner Deputies and their respective Alternates to the National Congress by Department, in each Party, shall be integrated by adding the total of votes obtained by each candidate, following the order from highest to lowest number of votes, the second place being the one that in descending form follows in the votes obtained, and so on successively until completing the number of deputies that correspond by department. In departments where only one deputy and their respective alternate are to be elected, the election shall be by simple majority;

• 3)

  For the integration of the slate of candidates for Owner Deputies and their respective Alternates to the Central American Parliament, taking the vote obtained at the national level, the same procedure is established as for the integration of the slate of Deputies to the National Congress provided in this Law, without prejudice to the observance of what is established in the Constitutive Treaty of the Central American Parliament; and,

• 4)

  In the integration of the slate of candidates for positions in Municipal Corporations the following rules shall be observed:

  • a)

    The municipal electoral quotient shall be determined by dividing the total valid votes of all movements obtained in the municipality by the total number of members of the Municipal Corporation that must be elected, excluding the Vice Mayor;

  • b)

    The candidate for Mayor and Vice-Mayor Municipal shall be declared elected from the citizens that appear in the candidate list of the movement that has obtained the majority of suffrage, subtracting from the total votes that favor said list the equivalent of a municipal electoral quotient, and;

  • c)

    The candidate for first Alderman shall be declared elected, the citizen that appears in the favored list with the highest number of suffrage after having subtracted the municipal electoral quotient with which the Mayor and Vice Mayor shall be declared elected, in the same manner shall be done successively until completing the number of Aldermen that correspond to the Municipality. If the distribution referred to in the preceding paragraph does not complete the number of candidates that must be elected, the candidate from the list that has achieved the highest municipal electoral residue shall be declared elected and so on successively in descending order of residues until completing the number of positions. Candidates for Vice-Mayor are excluded from this distribution. The electoral process for the selection of candidates to positions of popular election must be concluded within forty-five (45) business days counted from the holding of the same. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall cause to be published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta the slates of candidates to positions of popular election resulting from the primary electoral process of each Political Party and shall proceed to their registration within fifteen (15) calendar days following the Call for General Elections.

NULLITY OF CHANGES IN SLATES. Once registered and after the primary electoral process has been carried out, no changes may be made in the slates of candidates for positions of popular election, except in the cases established in Article 138. Any change that does not comply with the aforementioned requirement shall be null and void. Those who violate what is stipulated in this Article shall commit the crime of Falsification of Public Documents.

TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall provide technical and financial assistance to Political Parties for the conduct of their primary elections.

DISSOLUTION OF INTERNAL MOVEMENTS. Upon the completion of the primary electoral process, the Internal Movements of the Political Parties shall be dissolved.

REGISTRATION OF CANDIDATES OF POLITICAL PARTIES. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall register for participation in the General Elections the candidates that are elected in the primary electoral process of each Political Party.

INDEPENDENT CANDIDACIES. Independent Candidates are nominations of citizens for positions of popular election, unaffiliated with Political Parties.

INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES. Citizens who have participated as candidates in primary elections for a position of popular election by any of the internal movements of a Political Party and have not achieved their nomination within what is established by Law may not run as independent candidates.

CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION. For the position of President of the Republic it is essential to register the candidacy for the position of Vice President; for Deputies to the National Congress and Central American Parliament, the registration of their respective alternate is necessary. In the case of registration of Municipal Corporation the complete slate.

APPLICATION AND REQUIREMENTS. When it comes to Independent Candidacies, those interested shall present personally before the Supreme Electoral Tribunal and within ten (10) calendar days following the Call for General Elections, the application for registration, and must comply with the following requirements;

• 1)

  Present slates of citizens who support the candidacy, in a number equivalent to two percent (2%) of the total valid votes in the last general election, national, departmental or municipal according to the position for which they are running;

• 2)

  Names and surnames, copy of the identity card, recent photograph when applicable and position for which they are running;

• 3)

  Certificate of Residency in case of not having been born in the department or municipality for which they are running;

• 4)

  Present a Declaration of Principles and Programs of political action, as well as the express commitment to respect the constitutional order and electoral regulations;

• 5)

  Indicate the address, place or means to receive notifications; and,

• 6)

  Drawing and description of the candidacy emblem and indication of the name with which it will compete. Candidacies shall not be registered that present mottoes or slogans that may be confused with those of other registered Political Parties;

EXHIBITION PERIOD. Upon receipt of the application for registration and within the period of five (5) calendar days, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall check the slates or lists presented against the National Electoral Census and other pertinent records. Upon completion of its verification, the slates shall be exhibited for ten (10) calendar days in the offices of the Municipal Civil Registries and in the headquarters of the other registered Political Parties that operate in the address of the citizens who support the application.

DEADLINE FOR CHALLENGE. Within ten (10) calendar days following the close of the exhibition period, any interested party may file the appropriate objections or lodge a challenge to the application, and upon the expiration of this deadline, the corresponding resolution shall be issued within the period of five (5) calendar days. The resolution ordering the registration of the Independent Candidacy must be published by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta".

APPLICABLE TO INDEPENDENT CANDIDACIES. The provisions contained in Articles 68, 72, 82, 83, 84, 85 and 86 of this Law are applicable to Independent Candidacies that participate in the electoral process. Independent candidacies shall have the right to political debt only when they win the office for which they were nominated and the corresponding amounts shall be paid in the first quarter of the year following the elections. CHAPTER III GENERAL PROVISIONS

JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS TO DISQUALIFY CANDIDATES. Judicial proceedings against any candidate for elective office from the date of their selection as a Candidate of their political party or their registration as an Independent Candidate, as the case may be, until the declaration of the general elections, shall have no effect of disqualification.

DEATH, RESIGNATION OR CAUSE OF DISQUALIFICATION OF A CANDIDATE. If a registered candidate dies, resigns, or any cause of disqualification arises before the election for which they have been nominated is held, the political organization in question shall have the obligation and right to register a new candidate through its Central Authority. After the primary elections are held, the principal candidates shall be replaced by their respective alternates. In the case of Independent Candidacies, the substitution referred to in the preceding paragraph shall only apply once the general elections have been held and only by their respective alternate. -- Resignations shall be presented personally and in writing before the Supreme Electoral Tribunal. TITLE IX PERMANENT POLITICAL ACTIVITY, ELECTORAL CAMPAIGN AND POLITICAL DEMONSTRATIONS. ARTICLE 139.- PERMANENT POLITICAL WORK. Political Parties may, at any time, carry out activities of organization, training and political information, through meetings or related activities, with their affiliates and supporters, in private sites and premises without need of authorization. They may not disseminate through means of communication, messages that damage the image, good name, honor and personal and family privacy to which every citizen has a right. The provisions of this Article are applicable to Alliances and Independent Candidacies during the validity of their registration. CHAPTER II ELECTORAL CAMPAIGN AND PROPAGANDA.

ELECTORAL CAMPAIGN. Electoral Campaign is the set of activities carried out by the actors in the process for the purpose of publicizing their ideological principles and government programs as well as promoting the candidates they have nominated for elective offices with the purpose of capturing the preference of voters.

STATE MEDIA. State broadcasting stations, television, newspapers and other state media shall not be used for electoral propaganda purposes. Officials who violate this provision shall be removed from their positions and shall be fined an amount equivalent to twenty (20) to one hundred (100) minimum salaries.

PROHIBITIONS FOR PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND EMPLOYEES. The following are prohibited for public officials and employees:

• 1)

  Attending meetings of a political nature during business days and hours;

• 2)

  Using the authority, means and influence of their positions to favor persons or political organizations;

• 3)

  Using government acts to conduct partisan propaganda of any kind; and,

• 4)

  Using financial resources or property of the State to conduct political propaganda. The violator shall be sanctioned with a fine equivalent to two (2) times the monthly salary and in case of recurrence with double the same, without prejudice to removal from their position.

ELECTORAL PROPAGANDA. Electoral Propaganda is the activity that seeks to exercise influence on the opinion and conduct of citizens to induce voting in favor of a given candidate, Political Party, Alliance or Independent Candidacy, using mainly mass media.

PERIOD OF ELECTORAL PROPAGANDA. Electoral Propaganda may only be conducted within fifty (50) calendar days before internal and primary elections and ninety (90) calendar days before the holding of general elections. Outside the deadlines established in this Article, Electoral Propaganda through the use of television, radio, written newspapers, magazines, billboards in public sites or places, fixed or mobile loudspeakers and public gatherings is prohibited. Those who violate the provisions of this Article shall be sanctioned with a fine of one hundred (100) to five hundred (500) minimum salaries; the same penalty shall be imposed on the media involved.

REGULATION OF SURVEYS AND OPINION POLLS. Any polling company that engages in the measurement of electoral behavior in its activities shall register before the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, which shall regulate said activity. The results of surveys and opinion polls may not be published within fifty (50) days before primary elections and ninety (90) days before general elections. In case of non-compliance with this Article, the offender or offenders shall be sanctioned with a fine of two hundred (200) to five hundred (500) highest minimum salaries. Registered polling companies shall notify the Supreme Electoral Tribunal with due advance notice of the methods and procedures used in conducting the surveys for prior authorization, within a maximum period of five (5) business days.

CONTENT OF PROPAGANDA. Those who contract electoral propaganda shall be responsible for its content. Electoral propaganda must remain within the limits of morality and ethics. Those who violate the provisions of this Article shall be sanctioned in accordance with the provisions of the Penal Code.

ANONYMOUS PROPAGANDA. Anonymous propaganda and propaganda that promotes electoral abstentionism, non-compliance with the Law or disrespect for political institutions and the dignity of persons is prohibited. Owners, Directors or Managers of printing companies, media, cinemas or advertising companies shall be responsible for the printing, transmission or publication of anonymous propaganda. Violators of the provisions of this Article shall be fined an amount of forty (40) to two hundred (200) minimum salaries. In case of recurrence, the operating permit shall be revoked.

PROHIBITED POLITICAL PROPAGANDA. It is prohibited at all times:

• 1)

  To post or paint posters, signs, drawings or other similar advertisements on buildings, furniture or equipment used by or owned by the State, public monuments, religious temples, traffic signals, signs and other objects on public roads or other spaces within the right of way;

• 2)

  To urge citizens to support, join, or withdraw from Political Parties, Alliances, Internal Movements or Independent Candidacies, using religious beliefs or motives;

• 3)

  To place propaganda over propaganda already placed in authorized locations;

• 4)

  To obstruct traffic or the view of persons or vehicles; and,

• 5)

  Political propaganda printed without a printer's mark.

SUSPENSION OF CAMPAIGN AND ELECTORAL PROPAGANDA. Within five (5) calendar days before primary and general elections, public demonstrations and all political propaganda through printed, audiovisual, electronic, radio, magnetic or any other material are prohibited. During said period, candidates, leaders and officials of Political Parties, Alliances and Independent Candidacies may only use the media to explain their government programs. The aforementioned period is included within the period authorized in Article 145. Non-compliance with the provisions of this Article shall be sanctioned with a fine of forty (40) minimum salaries. CHAPTER III PUBLIC MEETINGS AND POLITICAL DEMONSTRATIONS

AUTHORIZATION. Concentrations, parades, demonstrations or other types of public meetings held by Political Parties, Alliances or Independent Candidacies in open places shall require authorization from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal or the Municipal Electoral Tribunal, as the case may be, which shall grant permits respecting the order of presentation of requests, subject to the following rules:

• 1)

  The request must be presented in writing before the General Secretary of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal or the Secretary of the Municipal Electoral Tribunal, as the case may be, who shall record the date and time of presentation. The request shall be resolved within twenty-four (24) hours;

• 2)

  Authorization or permit shall be notified immediately to the applicant and to the Central Authorities of the other Political Parties.

• 3)

  Political events may not be authorized for two (2) or more contending Political Parties or candidates on the same day in the same location; and,

• 4)

  Political meetings may not be held less than two hundred (200) meters from bridges, intersections of public roads, religious temples, fire stations, Red Cross, hospitals, police departments and educational centers. Those who violate the provisions in the first paragraph of this Article shall be sanctioned with a fine of four (4) to ten (10) minimum salaries.

USE OF LOUDSPEAKERS. Political Parties, Alliances or Independent Candidacies that have permission for a meeting, demonstration or parade may use loudspeakers in a stationary manner or by means of vehicles, for their political activities in the place and on the day corresponding to the activity.

CHILDREN'S ELECTIONS. Children's elections may be held without using the figure of candidates or symbols of the Political Parties registered in the electoral processes.

Those who violate what is established in this Article shall be sanctioned with a fine of TWENTY (20) TO FORTY (40) MINIMUM SALARIES and the immediate suspension of the act.

CLOSURE OF PROPAGANDA OFFICES. The propaganda offices of Political Parties, Alliances and Independent Candidacies, located less than two hundred (200) meters from the place where a concentration or public demonstration is held, shall remain closed during the celebration of the event, except when this belongs to the one carrying out the same.

ORDERLY AND PEACEFUL POLITICAL ACTIVITIES. The meetings, events and political activities that the Supreme Electoral Tribunal or Municipal Electoral Tribunal authorize, may not be impeded, repressed or obstructed in their development by any authority while they are carried out in an orderly and peaceful manner. TITLE X ELECTORAL CIVIC EDUCATION AND TRAINING CHAPTER I ELECTORAL CIVIC EDUCATION

PROGRAM OF FORMATION AND ELECTORAL CIVIC EDUCATION. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall design a permanent program of formation and electoral civic education, intended to promote the political culture of the population and improve the knowledge and aptitudes of the persons who participate in the electoral processes.

INCORPORATION OF ELECTORAL CIVIC COURSE. The State Department of Education and Higher Educational Institutions shall incorporate into their study programs the subject of Electoral Civic Education.

ELECTORAL TRAINING. Electoral training is understood to be all those activities of teaching, research and dissemination of electoral matters, that the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, Political Parties and cooperating Institutions carry out exclusively under the modality of non-formal education, with the purpose of improving the knowledge, abilities, skills and aptitudes of citizens who intervene in the electoral process. TITLE XI

DEVELOPMENT OF GENERAL ELECTIONS CHAPTER I ELECTORAL SCHEDULE AND CONVOCATION

SCHEDULE. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal must execute and follow up on the activities established in this Law, to guarantee compliance with the electoral schedule, and must inform in a timely and prior manner to Political Parties, Alliances and Independent Candidacies.

DATE OF ELECTIONS. General elections shall be held on the last Sunday of the month of November of the year prior to the one in which the Constitutional period ends.

CONVOCATION. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal on national radio and television networks shall convoke citizens to general elections, with six (6) months in advance, to elect the following positions:

• 1)

  President and Vice President of the Republic;

• 2)

  Deputies to the Central American Parliament;

• 3)

  Deputies to the National Congress; and,

• 4)

  Members of the Municipal Corporations. CHAPTER II ELECTORAL DOCUMENTATION AND MATERIAL

ELECTORAL DOCUMENTATION AND MATERIAL. It is the responsibility of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, by unanimity and in regulation, the documentation, material and equipment required for the electoral process.

ELECTORAL BALLOTS. The Electoral Ballot is the document that contains the insignias of the Political Parties and recent photographs of the candidates for: President and Vice President of the Republic, Alternate Deputies to the National Congress, Alternate Deputies to the Central American Parliament; Mayor and Vice Mayor Municipal. For security, ballots shall be marked on the reverse with a

special seal of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal; they shall bear the signatures of its three (3) Alternate Magistrates; furthermore they shall indicate the elective period, the date of holding the elections, space to place the number of the Receiving Electoral Table; Municipality, Department and shall be issued separately for:

• 1)

  President and Vice President of the Republic;

• 2)

  Deputies to the Central American Parliament;

• 3)

  Deputies to the National Congress; and, 4) Members to the Municipal Corporations; The ballots shall contain the following requirements:

  • 1)

    All of equal form and model, on non-transparent paper;

  • 2)

    Their size shall be set by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal;

  • 3)

    On their main face they shall bear printed the following legends:

    • a)

      In the upper part shall appear the word ticket and the elective level to which it corresponds;

    • b)

      The name, flag or emblem of each of the Political Parties, Alliances or Independent Candidacies that participate in the electoral process;

    • c)

      Photograph and name of the candidates, when applicable;

    • d)

      In the Presidential elective level and Municipality below each formula, a blank box to mark the vote; and,

    • e)

      In the elective level of Deputies to the National Congress and Deputies to the Central American Parliament a blank box, to mark the vote below the photograph of each candidate 4) The spaces corresponding to each Political Party, Alliances or Independent Candidacies shall be separated by a line; 5) The order of location of the Political Parties, Alliances and Independent Candidacies, in the spaces of the electoral ballots, shall be in accordance with the draw carried out by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal together with the Electoral Consultative Council, which shall be held four (4) months before the holding of the elections; 6) In the case of registered candidates who did not present a photograph, the space shall be left blank and only their name shall appear; and

      7) When the Political Party or Alliances have not registered candidates in any elective level, the corresponding boxes shall appear blank.

NUMBER AND COLOR OF BALLOTS. The electoral ballots that shall be used for the exercise of suffrage shall be issued with all security provisions, so that no more ballots are printed than those really necessary and shall be differentiated by their color according to the elective levels.

REPRESENTATION IN THE PRINTING PROCESS. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal, Political Parties, Alliances and presidential Independent Candidacies shall have the right to accredit representatives so that they are present during the printing process. Upon completion of printing, it shall proceed to destroy the mold that was used for the same, drawing up the corresponding record that shall be signed by the head of the printing house and by the representative designated by each Political Organization.

SENDING OF ELECTORAL MATERIAL. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal with due advance, shall send the respective electoral material and documentation to the Municipal Electoral Tribunals. These shall distribute them to the Receiving Electoral Tables, no later than one hour before the start of voting. The Municipal Electoral Tribunals, as soon as they receive the material and electoral documentation, shall notify, by the means of communication at their disposal, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.

RECEPTION OF BAGS OF ELECTORAL MATERIAL IN PUBLIC SESSION. The reception of the bags containing the electoral documentation and the rest of the material shall be held in public session, of which a record shall be drawn up and signed by the members of the Municipal Electoral Tribunal, notifying the Supreme Electoral Tribunal of the number of bags or incomplete material. CHAPTER III PRACTICE OF ELECTIONS

INSTALLATION OF THE POLLING STATION ELECTORAL BOARD. Polling Centers shall be arranged to install the number of Polling Station Electoral Boards according to the capacity of the premises; each Polling Station Electoral Board shall be installed in a physical space in which ballot stations can be comfortably placed for the conduct of voting, guaranteeing the secrecy of the vote.

INSTALLATION OF THE BOARD AND REVISION OF ELECTORAL MATERIAL. On election day, the Polling Station Electoral Boards shall be installed at five o'clock (5:00 a.m.), in the Polling Centers previously designated; the members thereof shall verify that they are in possession of all electoral material for the exercise of suffrage and shall inspect the ballot boxes to verify that they are empty; the President of the Polling Station Electoral Board shall close it and, by means of a band of gummed paper that crosses both bodies of the ballot box, shall seal it in such a manner that it cannot be opened without alteration and rupture of said band, which shall be signed by all members of the Polling Station Electoral Board. Immediately thereafter, the members shall proceed to deposit their Identity Card in the custody of the Secretary of the Board.

CONDUCT OF VOTING. At six o'clock (6:00 a.m.), the President of the Polling Station Electoral Board shall announce "VOTING BEGINS", shall require each elector to present their Identity Card, which shall be reviewed by the members thereof to verify that they appear registered in the corresponding list; once the elector is identified, the Identity Card shall be retained for the duration of their voting; the Members of the Board shall observe the elector's hand to verify that there is no excessive indelible ink on their fingers that would indicate they may have voted at another Polling Station; if any is found, the Secretary of the Polling Station Electoral Board shall mark the reverse of the ballots and shall deliver them to the elector, who shall proceed to the private place to mark them; they shall then fold them so that the content remains hidden and shall show them to the members of the Board so that they may verify that they contain the signatures of the President and Secretary; if they do, the seal "RATIFIED" shall be stamped; the elector shall deposit them in the respective ballot boxes; immediately thereafter, one of the members of the board shall examine the little finger of the elector's right hand, or the corresponding finger, to see if it has oily or waterproof residue, attempting to remove it if present, and shall apply indelible ink to the same. The Secretary of the Board shall make the respective notation that the elector voted, entering it in the corresponding box of the elector list; then the elector shall be given their Identity Card and shall immediately leave the premises.

INDELIBLE INK. The elector who refuses to have indelible ink applied shall be subject to the sanction established by this Law, and the President of the Board shall retain the respective Identity Card. The indelible ink applied to electors must be of a single quality and color, and must be of proven guarantee. The indelible ink applied to electors must be of a single quality and color, and must be of proven guarantee.

VOTES OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES. Without prejudice to other specialized procedures established by the Supreme Electoral Board to guarantee the secrecy of the vote; when the elector is a person unable to vote for themselves, they shall vote publicly before the Members of the Board and the President; at the request of the elector and in compliance with their will, the President shall mark the ballots in the box of the candidate indicated by the elector, then showing the ballot to the other members of the Board. The elector shall deposit the vote themselves or through the President of the Board.

CLOSING OF VOTING. Voting shall proceed without interruption until four o'clock p.m. (16:00); after that hour, only citizens who are in line at the time of closing may vote, subject to prior verification by the Secretary of the Polling Station Electoral Board; subsequently, officials of the Supreme Electoral Board accredited on official assignment shall vote, their credential bearing the signature and seal of the three (3) Magistrates; and finally, the titular and alternate members of the Polling Station Electoral Board shall vote, even if they do not appear on the respective list of that Polling Station Electoral Board. If by fortuitous event or force majeure, voting does not begin at the hour established by this Law, the members of the Polling Station Electoral Board may extend voting until five o'clock p.m. (17:00). Immediately after the persons aforementioned have voted, the President shall announce "VOTING IS NOW CLOSED".

COUNTING FOR THE BOARD. For purposes of conducting the count, the President of the Board, in the presence of the other members, shall proceed to count the unused ballots and shall stamp them with the "SURPLUS" seal; then shall open the ballot boxes in the following order:

• 1)

  President and Vice President of the Republic;

• 2)

  Deputies of the Central American Parliament;

• 3)

  Deputies to the National Congress; and,

• 4)

  Members of Municipal Corporations. The ballot boxes shall be opened after verifying their condition; the ballots shall be extracted and examined one by one by the teller to verify that they have not been altered; then shall pass them to the President, who shall show them to the other members of the Board. If alterations are found in a ballot, the votes it contains shall be void. When ballots of a different color than the corresponding one appear in a ballot box, the teller shall extract it and deliver it to the President of the Board, who, in the presence of the other members, shall keep it for it to be counted at the moment the ballot box containing ballots of that color is opened; however, if the ballots in the ballot boxes have already been counted, the ballot in question shall be reviewed, read, and its votes credited to the corresponding candidates. The Secretary shall take note of the votes marked in separate groups as follows:

  • a)

    President and Vice President of the Republic;

  • b)

    Deputies to the Central American Parliament;

  • c)

    Deputies to the National Congress; and, d) Members of the Municipal Corporation. The count shall be conducted by attributing each vote as corresponding. Immediately the ballots shall be sealed one by one with a seal reading "COUNTED"; unmarked ballots shall be stamped with a seal bearing the legend "VALID". In all other cases marked ballots are considered valid. Ballots with poor printing, stained, or stamped "VOID" without just cause, provided the mark is visible, shall be considered valid and shall be stamped with the "RATIFIED" seal. The voting ballots shall be counted to verify if their quantity corresponds to that of the citizens who voted, as recorded in the Voting Record. Immediately thereafter, the Closing Act shall be drawn up, expressing the number of voters and the votes obtained by each of the candidates at each elective level; void votes, blank votes, and surplus ballots shall also be recorded, as well as any incidents that occurred and protests presented during the election and the counting. The Closing Act shall be drawn up in the respective Voting Record and shall be signed by the members of the Polling Station Electoral Board.

VOID VOTES. The following are void votes:

• 1)

  The ballot marked with obscene legends or symbols;

• 2)

  The ballot marked outside or beyond the spaces established by this Law;

• 3)

  The ballot having a single mark covering two (2) boxes without being able to differentiate the proportionality of the mark. If the mark covers more than one box, the vote shall be attributed to the candidate in whose box the greater part of the mark or line appears; and,

• 4)

  Those recorded on two or more ballots under the same fold.

INTERLACED BALLOTS. When two (2) or more ballots are found interlaced, the teller shall set them apart as they were found and if, upon completing the count, the number of voters is consistent with the ballots deposited, their votes shall be considered valid, void, or blank, as corresponding.

PROHIBITION ON CARRYING PENS. No member of the Polling Station Electoral Board shall be permitted to carry pens.

PERSONS WHO MAY REMAIN IN THE VOTING PLACE. Only members of the Polling Station Electoral Board, officials of the Supreme Electoral Board, and international observers, accredited pursuant to this Law, shall be permitted to remain in the voting place.

PERSONS WHO CANNOT REMAIN IN A POLLING STATION LOCAL. The following persons may not remain in the local of a Polling Station Electoral Board, nor exercise the right to vote: persons who appear under the effects of any drug, in a state of intoxication, armed or carrying insignias or emblems demonstrating the political affiliation of the elector.

CAUSES THAT ENABLE THE CONDUCT OF AN ELECTION OR COUNTING. If by fortuitous event or force majeure the conduct of an election is made impossible or is declared void in one or several Polling Station Electoral Boards, this fact shall not affect the validity of elections conducted in the rest of the municipality, the department, or the Republic, unless the votes of that Board or Boards could decide the final result of an election. In this case, new elections shall be called in the location or locations where the process was not conducted or completed, within a period not exceeding twenty-one (21) calendar days, counted from the date on which voting should have taken place.

SPECIAL MECHANISMS FOR VOTING AND COUNTING. The Supreme Electoral Board may establish special mechanisms for voting and counting in all departments where possible.

PROHIBITION ON PUBLIC SHOWS AND SALE OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES. Public shows and the sale or distribution of alcoholic beverages shall not be permitted from six o'clock (6:00 a.m.) of the day prior to the day an election is to be held, until six o'clock p.m. (18:00) of the day following the election. Whoever violates the provisions of this Article shall be imposed a fine of Four (4) to Ten (10) Minimum Salaries.

PROHIBITION ON DISCLOSURE OF EXIT POLL RESULTS. To guarantee the free will of the electorate on the day of the primary and general elections, the disclosure of exit polls conducted at the polling place before five o'clock in the afternoon (5:00 p.m.) is prohibited. Whoever violates what is stated in the preceding paragraph shall be sanctioned with a fine of ONE HUNDRED (100) TO TWO HUNDRED FIFTY (250) MINIMUM WAGES.

CANCELLATION OF EVENTS THAT MAY INTERFERE. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall order the suspension or cancellation of any type of event that may directly or indirectly interfere with the holding of elections.

TRANSPORT OF ELECTORAL DOCUMENTATION AND MATERIALS TO THE MUNICIPAL ELECTORAL TRIBUNAL. Upon completion of the ballot count and once electoral materials are packed in the security bag, they shall be transported by the President and Secretary and other members of the Electoral Receiving Board who wish to accompany them, and shall be delivered to the Municipal Electoral Tribunal.

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ON ELECTION DAY. On election day, owners of public transportation with an assigned route shall provide service as if it were an ordinary day. Suspension of service shall be sanctioned in accordance with this Law. CHAPTER IV DISCLOSURE OF BALLOT COUNT

DISCLOSURE OF RESULTS. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall initiate the disclosure through the media of the results of the ballot count conducted at the Electoral Receiving Boards, as of six o'clock in the afternoon (6:00 p.m.) after the closing report is signed and certificates of results are delivered to the Political Parties.

FORMAT FOR PRELIMINARY BALLOT COUNT RESULTS OF THE BOARD. The format containing the preliminary results of the ballot count conducted must be printed with the necessary measures of security and control. Once completed, it shall be signed by all members of the Electoral Receiving Board and sent to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal by the means it determines.

DISCLOSURE OF PRELIMINARY RESULTS. The results of the Electoral Receiving Board disclosed by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal are preliminary and serve only the function of informing the citizenry about the partial results of the voting. CHAPTER V FINAL DEFINITIVE BALLOT COUNT.

GENERAL BALLOT COUNT. The General Ballot Count consists of the analysis, verification, and sum of the results contained in the Closing Report of each Electoral Receiving Board. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall prepare the final report with the results obtained from the totality of the Electoral Receiving Boards. When the closing report presents inconsistencies with the other Certificates of Results from the same Electoral Receiving Board, the result recorded in the majority of the Certificates issued to the Political Parties, Alliances, and Independent Candidacies, as applicable, shall prevail. The General Ballot Count shall be conducted by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, and may be assisted by the participating Political Parties. CHAPTER VI DECLARATION OF ELECTIONS

DETERMINATION OF THE NUMBER OF VALID, BLANK, AND NULL VOTES. For the declaration of elections, the number of valid votes obtained by each Political Party, Alliance, and Independent Candidacy, as well as blank and null votes, must be determined.

SIMPLE MAJORITY. For the purposes of this Law, simple majority is understood as the greater number of votes obtained by a candidate or slate of candidates in relation to another or others. To determine simple majority, electoral quotients and remainders shall only take into account valid votes.

PRESIDENTIAL FORMULA. For the declaration of election of President and Vice President of the Republic, the formula of the Political Party, Alliance, or Independent Candidacy that has achieved a simple majority of votes shall be declared elected.

DEPUTIES TO THE NATIONAL CONGRESS. The declaration of election of Deputies to the National Congress shall be made by applying the following procedure:

• 1)

  In each Political Party, Alliance, or Independent Candidacy, the order of precedence shall be established in accordance with the marks obtained by each candidate individually, with the candidate who obtained the greatest number of marks occupying the first place within the corresponding slate and so successively in descending order until completing the number of positions;

• 2)

  The total of valid votes for each Political Party, Alliance, and Independent Candidacy shall be obtained by adding the marks obtained by each of its candidates.

• 3)

  The departmental electoral quotient shall be the result of dividing the total valid votes obtained by all Political Parties, Alliances, and Independent Candidacies by the number of positions to be elected;

• 4)

  For each Political Party, Alliance, and Independent Candidacy that has obtained in the department in question;

• 5)

  If the distribution referred to in the preceding numeral of this Article does not complete the total number of Deputies that must be elected for each department, the candidate for Deputy Proprietor and his respective Alternate who correspond on the ordered list of the Political Party, Alliance, or Independent Candidacy that has achieved the greatest departmental electoral remainder shall be declared elected, and so successively in descending order of remainders, until completing the number of Deputies to be elected; and,

• 6)

  In departments in which a proprietor candidate and an alternate are to be elected, the election shall be by simple majority.

DEPUTIES TO THE CENTRAL AMERICAN PARLIAMENT. Without prejudice to what is provided in the International Agreements, for the declaration of election of Deputies to the Central American Parliament, the same procedure established for the integration of the slate of deputies to the National Congress shall be applied, taking as the basis the quotient and remainder at the national level.

MEMBERS OF MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS. For the declaration of election of members of Municipal Corporations, the following procedure shall be followed:

• 1)

  To obtain the municipal electoral quotient, the total of valid votes cast in the Municipal Corporation that must be elected shall be divided, excluding the Vice-Mayor;

• 2)

  Mayor and Vice Mayor shall be declared elected, the citizens who appear on the candidate list of the Political Party, Alliance, or Independent Candidacy that has obtained the majority of votes, subtracting from the total votes in favor of said list an amount equivalent to one municipal electoral quotient; and,

• 3)

  The first Councilmember shall be declared elected, the citizen who appears on the favored list with the highest number of votes, after deducting the municipal electoral quotient with which the Mayor and Vice Mayor were declared elected. In the same manner it shall proceed successively until completing the number of Councilmembers corresponding to the Municipality.

• 4)

  If the distribution referred to in the preceding numeral of this Article does not complete the total number of Councilmembers that must be elected for each municipality, the candidate for Councilmember who corresponds on the list of the Political Party, Alliance, or Independent Candidacy that has achieved the greatest municipal electoral remainder shall be declared elected; and so successively in descending order of remainders, until completing the number of Councilmembers to be elected;

VACANCIES BEFORE THE DECLARATION OF ELECTIONS. If during the period between the date of the general election and the declaration of elections a vacancy occurs of a candidate for proprietor deputy, it shall be filled by his respective alternate, and this position in turn shall be filled by the first unsuccessful candidate for councilmember of his Political Organization. If during the same period a vacancy occurs of a member of a Municipal Corporation, it shall be filled by the first unsuccessful candidate for councilmember, in order of precedence, of his Political Organization.

DEADLINE AND PUBLICATION. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall declare the results of elections no later than thirty (30) calendar days after the elections have been held and shall order their publication the following day in the Official Journal La Gaceta, notifying the State Powers and the Political organizations that participated in the general elections. The communication shall be made by means of a complete certification of the general voting tally act, and each elected citizen shall be issued their respective credential. CHAPTER VII NULLITY OF ELECTIONS AND ITS EFFECTS.

NULLITIES. The nullities established in this Chapter may affect the voting at an Electoral Polling Station, Municipality, Department or at the National Level and the results of the voting tally at the three (3) elective levels provided in this Law.

EFFECTS OF NULLITY. The nullity decreed by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall affect the voting or election for which the action of nullity has been specifically invoked.

NULLITY OF VOTING AT AN ELECTORAL POLLING STATION. Voting at an Electoral Polling Station shall be null when any of the following grounds are proven:

• 1)

  Installation of the Electoral Polling Station in a place other than that authorized by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal;

• 2)

  Delivery of the package containing electoral materials to the respective Municipal Electoral Tribunal outside the deadlines specified by this Law, except in cases of force majeure;

• 3)

  Performance of the voting tally in a location other than that determined by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal for the Electoral Polling Station;

• 4)

  Alteration by fraud of the voting tally acts;

• 5)

  Prevention of the exercise of the right to vote; and,

• 6)

  Violation of the principle of vote secrecy.

CAUSES OF NULLITY OF ELECTIONS. The following are causes of nullity of elections and their declaration:

• 1)

  If they were held without legal convocation;

• 2)

  If the convocation was made outside the legal terms;

• 3)

  If they were held outside the date and place indicated in the convocation;

• 4)

  If coercion was used by public officials or employees, private individuals, or through intervention or violence by armed bodies of any nature;

• 5)

  If the election results due to error of names in press different from the candidate;

• 6)

  If there exists appropriation or subtraction of documentation and materials contained in the electoral ballot boxes;

• 7)

  If the electoral process is interrupted without justified cause;

• 8)

  If there exists fraud in the sum of votes and this affects the result of the election; and,

• 9)

  If there exists alteration or falsification of electoral acts or certifications.

ACTION OF NULLITY. Against the voting and the declaration of elections, only the action of nullity shall be admissible, without prejudice to the sanctions established by Law.

DEADLINE FOR ACTION OF NULLITY. The action of nullity against voting may be exercised by any citizen within ten (10) business days following the practice thereof and against the declaration of elections, within five (5) business days following its publication in the Official Journal La Gaceta.

PROCEDURE FOR NULLITY. Every nullity complaint shall be presented in writing specifying the facts on which it is based and the legal precepts violated, presenting the corresponding evidence, without prejudice to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal being able to conduct such investigations as it deems necessary. The nullity complaint shall be resolved within ten (10) business days following the date of presentation of the corresponding written document.

REPETITION OF ELECTION AND RECTIFICATION OF DECLARATION. Upon declaring the nullity of a voting, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall order it to be repeated within ten (10) calendar days following. If the nullity is of the election declaration, it must rectify it immediately and make the respective publication.

WRIT OF AMPARO REGARDING NULLITY ACTIONS. The resolution on an action of nullity decreed by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal exhausts the administrative remedy and against it only the writ of amparo shall be admissible, which must be filed within ten (10) business days. TITLE XII ELECTORAL CRIMES AND OFFENSES SOLE CHAPTER

JURISDICTION TO HEAR ELECTORAL CRIMES AND OFFENSES. Ordinary Justice shall hear cases for electoral crimes and offenses, except for the administrative and pecuniary sanctions that correspond to be imposed by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal in accordance with the Law.

ELECTORAL COERCION AND THREAT. The following shall be punished with imprisonment of four (4) to six (6) years:

• 1)

  Whoever, without being legitimately authorized, prevents another through the use or non-use of violence from exercising their electoral rights;

• 2)

  Whoever does not permit or by any means obstructs the electoral organizations from timely occupation of the necessary public facilities for their operation;

• 3)

  Whoever alters or obstructs any legitimate act of electoral propaganda;

• 4)

  Whoever prevents the electoral organizations or any of their members from performing their functions; and,

• 5)

  Whoever prevents the opening of voting, interrupts it, or changes the voting location.

FALSIFICATION OF ELECTORAL DOCUMENTS. The falsification of electoral documents constitutes the crime of falsification of public documents and shall be punished in accordance with the Penal Code.

ELECTORAL DOCUMENTS. For the purposes of this Law, the following are considered electoral documents:

• 1)

  The National Electoral Census;

• 2)

  The Election Lists;

• 3)

  The Voting Notebooks;

• 4)

  The Acts of Electoral Organizations;

• 5)

  The Lists of Ineligible Electors;

• 6)

  Certification of results and of any other class, used in the electoral process;

• 7)

  The written proposals of Political Parties for integrating Electoral Organizations;

• 8)

  The information contained in the preliminary results transmission formats;

• 9)

  The credentials issued by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal;

• 10)

  The Electoral Ballots;

• 11)

  The Identity Cards; and,

• 12)

  The rosters of candidates for popularly elected offices.

OTHER ELECTORAL CRIMES. Those who incur in the following acts shall be punished with imprisonment of four (4) to six (6) years:

• 1)

  Unjustified delay in the formation, issuance or publication of electoral documents and obstruction for their delivery;

• 2)

  Malicious inaccuracy in the preparation of the National Electoral Census, its copies, ballots and other electoral documents;

• 3)

  Unjustified change of time and places where an election must be held;

• 4)

  Irregularity in the organization and operation of Electoral Polling Stations, such as: a) Installing an Electoral Polling Station without authorization from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal; and b) Usurping any of the positions of the Electoral Polling Station;

• 5)

  Preventing members of Electoral Polling Stations from reviewing the urns before starting voting and upon completion, as well as reviewing the votes in the voting tally;

• 6)

  Malicious and incorrect notation in the voting notebook or in the content of electoral ballots;

• 7)

  Violation of vote secrecy, when not attributable to the elector;

• 8)

  Declaration of election of persons not elected;

• 9)

  Alteration of the number of ballots in relation to the opening act and of votes in relation to the Closing Act of the Electoral Polling Station;

• 10)

  Preventing or suspending, without justified reason, any electoral act;

• 11)

  Delaying or intentionally omitting the remission of electoral documentation and material used in the elections;

• 12)

  Extracting deposited votes before verification in the voting tally or subtraction of electoral material from the Electoral Polling Station;

• 13)

  Retaining electoral material;

• 14)

  Exercising the right to vote while ineligible or voting more than once;

• 15)

  Impersonating another person in the exercise of the right to vote;

• 16)

  Buying or selling votes;

• 17)

  Nullifying the vote, alleging grounds not included in this Law;

• 18)

  Omitting the signature, by the President or Secretary of the Electoral Polling Station, on the electoral ballot;

• 19)

  Obstructing the implementation of the Schedule of Activities of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal; and,

• 20)

  Altering the databases containing the National Electoral Census, those used as basis for its preparation, those containing voting tally information and others related to electoral documentation. When the aforementioned acts are committed by public officials or employees, they shall be punished, in addition, with the penalty of special disqualification.

NO PARTICIPATION OF FOREIGNERS IN POLITICS. A foreigner who obstructs in any way the electoral function or publicly interferes in internal political matters shall be expelled from the national territory, without prejudice to any other sanctions to which he may be subject. A foreigner who illicitly carries an Identity Card as a Honduran and exercises the right to vote shall be sanctioned with a sentence of ten (10) years of imprisonment, without expulsion from the country at the end of the sentence.

DESTRUCTION OF PROPAGANDA. Those who willfully damage or destroy electoral propaganda placed in authorized public places shall be sanctioned with a fine of one (1) to five (5) minimum salaries, without prejudice to criminal liability.

UNJUSTIFIED NON-ATTENDANCE. The Member of the Electoral Organizational Structure who fails to fulfill his obligations without just cause shall be sanctioned in the following manner:

• 1)

  The Magistrates of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal with two (2) minimum salaries;

• 2)

  The members of the Departmental Electoral Tribunals, with one (1) minimum salary; and,

• 3)

  The members of the Municipal Electoral Tribunals, with one-fourth (1/4) of minimum salary.

FINES IMPOSED BY THE TRIBUNAL. The fines established in this Law shall be imposed by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal and shall be deposited with the General Treasury of the Republic. For the application of said fines, minimum salary shall be understood as the monthly minimum salary fixed at its highest level.

REQUIREMENTS FOR FINES. Fines imposed that are not paid within eight (8) days following the date of notification shall be pursued by means of compulsory enforcement.

PROCEDURES FOR APPLICATION OF SANCTIONS. For the application of administrative and pecuniary sanctions, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall summon the interested parties to a hearing, which shall be held within five (5) business days, so that they may appear with the evidence they deem relevant in support of their claims. If there is evidence to be presented, it shall set a term of eight (8) business days for the execution thereof. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall resolve within three (3) business days following the last notification. Against these resolutions the remedy of reconsideration may be filed, at the time of notification or the following business day.

MEMBERS OF MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS. Municipal Corporations are comprised of a Mayor, a Vice Mayor, and a number of Aldermen that shall be determined in the following manner:

• 1)

  Municipality with up to five thousand (5,000) inhabitants, four (4) Aldermen;

• 2)

  From five thousand one (5,001) to ten thousand inhabitants, six (6) Aldermen;

• 3)

  From ten thousand one (10,001) to eighty thousand (80,000) inhabitants, eight (8) Aldermen; and,

• 4)

  Municipalities with more than eighty thousand (80,000) inhabitants and departmental capitals, ten (10) Aldermen.

TAX-FREE IMPORTATION. Political Parties are authorized to import into the country every four (4) years, free of all taxes, fees, surcharges and duties, photographic equipment, work motor vehicles, sound equipment for propaganda, computer equipment and any other machinery and material necessary for exclusive use of the Political Party; provided that the value of taxes to be paid does not exceed TWO MILLION LEMPIRAS (L.2,000,000.00). Real property owned by Political Parties is exempt from payment of taxes and municipal fees. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall be exempt from payment of all taxes, fees, surcharges and consular duties, both national and municipal, in all acts and contracts that it performs or executes, as well as for goods and services that it acquires.

POSTAL AND TELEPHONE FRANCHISE. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall enjoy postal, telegraphic, telex, fax, direct lines, clean line for remote data processing of computerized communication systems, voice and data channels, radio link frequencies, electronic mail and Internet and any other official means, to communicate within the national territory and abroad, from the call for elections until the declaration of general elections. The preparation, simulations and transmission of electoral results in primary and general election processes shall be at the expense of the Honduran Telecommunications Company (HONDUTEL). The Departmental and Municipal Tribunals shall enjoy franchise solely on voting day.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS. The Department of State in the Office of Education, one year before the conduct of Primary and General Elections, shall make available to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal an updated inventory of official and private educational buildings or centers throughout the Republic of Honduras, detailing the following information: department, municipality, city, neighborhood, district, village, settlement, name of the school or institute, name, street or avenue number and location. The inventory shall indicate how many adequate classrooms the school or institute has to install the Electoral Ballot Boxes. Within the same period indicated in the preceding paragraph, the other Departments of State and decentralized, autonomous and semi-autonomous institutions shall make available to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, for use on election day, buildings or premises suitable for the installation of Electoral Ballot Boxes.

CARTOGRAPHY. The Department of State in the Office of Public Works, Transportation and Housing (SOPTRAVI), National Institute of Statistics (INE), National Geographic Institute, Executive Directorate of Cadastre and the Department of State in the Office of Health, shall provide the Supreme Electoral Tribunal with a copy of the updated cartography in its possession, as well as all other collaboration that this Organism may require.

INVENTORY OF NOMENCLATURE OF MUNICIPALITIES. The Municipalities throughout the Republic, whenever requested, shall provide the Supreme Electoral Tribunal with cartographic information and an inventory of the nomenclature of their municipality by village, neighborhood, district and settlement.

MIGRATION AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS DIRECTORATE. The Department of State in the Offices of Interior and Justice, through the Directorate of Migration and Foreign Affairs, shall provide the Supreme Electoral Tribunal with the following lists:

• 1)

  List of Hondurans who have left and have not returned to the country during the two (2) years immediately before the date of general elections;

• 2)

  Naturalized Hondurans who have more than two (2) consecutive years of residence abroad;

• 3)

  Resident foreigners; and,

• 4)

  Control of refugees.

TRANSPORT, SURVEILLANCE AND CUSTODY. The transport, surveillance and custody of the electoral process shall be the responsibility of the Armed Forces of Honduras. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall make corresponding budgetary provisions to meet and satisfy the expenses incurred in the form of logistical support in electoral processes. Additionally, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall submit to the National Congress the estimated calculation of the values corresponding to transport costs and the dissemination of government programs in which the Political Parties participating in the electoral process shall incur, for the purpose of its inclusion in the General Budget of Income and Expenditures of the Nation.

MOTOR VEHICLES OF STATE AGENCIES. The President of the Republic, Secretaries of State, Presidents and Managers of the decentralized and deconcentrated agencies of the State and Municipal Mayors, shall order all their agencies that thirty-six (36) hours before the opening of elections, until four o'clock in the afternoon (4:00 p.m.) of the following day, all motor vehicles of their agencies shall be at the disposal of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal and only with authorization thereof may they be moved from their parking places. Exempt from this provision are motor vehicles of emergency services of the National Electrical Company (ENEE), National Autonomous Water and Sewage Service (SANAA), Honduran Telecommunications Company (HONDUTEL), Armed Forces and National Police. The National Police shall enforce compliance with this provision. If any branch of State or decentralized or deconcentrated Institution should require the circulation of one or more motor vehicles on the date indicated, it shall request authorization from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, indicating the reason or necessity of its use, which shall resolve the foregoing.

PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. Electoral documents are public and any citizen may request certification or take notes thereof.

COLLABORATION OF MEDIA WITH THE SUPREME ELECTORAL TRIBUNAL. Radio, print, and television media, both public and private, shall collaborate in a special manner with the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, within seventy-two (72) hours prior to the conduct of elections, in order to guide the citizenry toward their best participation in the electoral process.

ANNEX OF CONSTITUTIONAL TEXT. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall determine the constitutional articles related to this Law that must be added by annex to every official edition thereof.

REPEALING ARTICLE. This Law repeals the Electoral Law and Political Organizations contained in Legislative Decree No. 53 of April 20, 1981, issued by the National Constituent Assembly, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 23,407 of May 19, 1981, and its amendments.

TERMINATION OF NATIONAL ELECTIONS TRIBUNAL POSITIONS. The employees and officials who at the date of this Law's entry into force were employed by the National Elections Tribunal shall become part of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal for a maximum period of six (6) months counted from the date of this Law's entry into force. During this period, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, through the hiring of a foreign consulting firm with proven experience in the matter and contracted by unanimous vote by the Plenary of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, shall proceed to evaluate the personnel, terminating the officials who do not pass the evaluation, prior to payment of labor benefits. The employees and officials who pass the evaluation shall become part of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, preserving their seniority and other labor rights. During the period indicated in the first paragraph of this Article, employees and officials of the National Elections Tribunal shall have the right to voluntary retirement and payment of the respective labor benefits.

TRANSFER OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES. The assets and liabilities of the National Elections Tribunal shall pass to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal as of the date of this Law's entry into force. The Tribunal shall prepare the respective inventory and record. The Secretary of State in the Office of Finance shall provide that the necessary additional funds be allocated for the organization and operation of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.

SUSPENSION OF ELECTION OF DEPUTIES TO THE CENTRAL AMERICAN PARLIAMENT. In the primary and national elections corresponding to the year 2005, no elections shall be convoked or held for the selection of Deputies to the Central American Parliament, by virtue of the citizens who shall occupy said offices in the period 2006-2011 having been declared elected.

ADAPTATION OF POLITICAL PARTY BYLAWS TO THIS LAW. Within a period of four (4) months from the date of this Law's entry into force, Political Parties shall adapt their declaration of principles, bylaws, and programs of political action to what is established in this Law.

ADVERTISING AMNESTY. An amnesty period of thirty (30) days is established as of the date of this Law's entry into force, for Internal Movements, Political Parties, and candidates for positions of popular election to proceed with the removal or destruction of electoral propaganda found in public places, sites, or thoroughfares.

ENTRY INTO FORCE. This Law shall enter into force as of its publication in the Official Gazette La Gaceta. Given in the city of Tegucigalpa, Municipality of the Central District, in the Session Hall of the National Congress, the first of April of two thousand four. PORFIRIO LOBO SOSA President JUAN ORLANDO HERNANDEZ ALVARADO SECRETARY MARIA A. BOTTO HANDAL SECRETARY TO THE Executive Power. Therefore: Let it be executed. Tegucigalpa M.D.C; May 15, 2004. VICENTE WILLIANS AGASSE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC BY LAW THE SECRETARY OF STATE IN THE OFFICE OF GOVERNANCE AND JUSTICE JORGE RAMON HERNANDEZ ALCERRO.