Electoral Law of Honduras Year 2021

PURPOSE. This Law has the purpose of organizing and operating the electoral bodies which, in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic, have the authority to organize and direct electoral processes, through which citizens elect from among candidates for popular elective offices those of their preference; authorize the creation of political parties; conduct popular consultations with the purpose of strengthening the rule of law, through mechanisms of representative, participatory and functional democracy, promoting education, training and citizen capacity-building, encouraging their free, broad and civic participation in electoral processes, which must be transparent, honest and fair, respecting the sovereign will of voters.

OBJECTIVES. This Law establishes the legal and institutional framework which, in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic, regulates the free exercise of rights and the fulfillment of political duties of citizens, political parties, their internal movements, their alliances, candidates and independent candidacies, having as objectives the following:

• 1)

  Protect and guarantee the free exercise of political and electoral rights of citizens to achieve their conscious and effective participation in electoral processes;

• 2)

  Establish the powers of the National Electoral Council (CNE) as the constitutional body with exclusive competence in the administration of primary and general elections, as well as the supervision of internal democracy of political parties;

• 3)

  Define the regulations to which political parties, their movements, candidates, alliances, mergers and independent candidacies must be subject;

• 4)

  Establish the mechanisms and procedures that guarantee the realization of electoral processes, ensuring the political-electoral participation of citizens in equal opportunities, political parties and their movements, alliances, mergers, candidates and independent candidacies; and,

• 5)

  Strengthen the principles, civic and democratic values of citizens and their political participation.

PRINCIPLES. The principles that guide this Law are the following:

• 1)

  Legitimacy; It implies recognition, on the part of others, that an act or action is endowed with authority for being clothed with the attributes of legality, validity, justice and effectiveness; and that citizens follow, respect and comply with it.

• 2)

  Universality; The provisions and rights contained in this Law encompass and are common to all Hondurans, without exception.

• 3)

  Freedom; The making of decisions and the exercise of rights contained in this Law must be exercised without interference or coercion and without unlawful pressure.

• 4)

  Impartiality; It consists of the duty of electoral authorities to be unrelated or foreign to the interests of those involved, and to decide without unduly favoring. It implies the lack of anticipated favoritism for or against something or someone, which allows deciding with rectitude and in accordance with law.

• 5)

  Transparency; In all electoral acts and processes, the publicity of information and citizens' access to such information must be guaranteed, except for the exceptions expressly stipulated in the Constitution of the Republic and the Law.

• 6)

  Non-discrimination; Its purpose is to guarantee equal treatment in the application of this Law. No person or Political Party should be discriminated or discriminated in relation to another or others.

• 7)

  Equity; In the interpretation and application of this law, equality of competitors and the electorate must be guaranteed, ensuring that the electoral force of competitors is not distorted, nor is the weight of the electorate's will altered; addressing the particular circumstances of the context through affirmative action.

• 8)

  Pluralism; It refers to the system in which the participation of a multiplicity of groups and social sectors in the political life of a nation is accepted, tolerated and recognized. In this sense, in the application of this Law, the existence of diverse social groups with different ideas and interests must be respected and recognized, guaranteeing their participation.

• 9)

  Ballot Secrecy; A principle aimed at guaranteeing the freedom of voters, constituting a necessary prerequisite to accredit the validity of the vote, it seeks to certify that the vote truly and authentically reflects the will of voters, what is wanted or preferred by them, and not that it is the product of an open and evident manipulation of their electoral preferences.

• 10)

  Mandatory Voting; Mandatory suffrage or vote is an electoral mechanism that derives from Article 44 of the Constitution of the Republic, which considers suffrage as a right and a civic obligation, establishing the duty to attend voting centers to exercise that right and obligation.

• 11)

  Legality; A fundamental principle, according to which all action must be carried out in accordance with the Constitution and current law. In everything related to electoral processes and the exercise of electoral rights, the primacy of law, its superiority or hierarchy must be guaranteed.

• 12)

  Good Faith; It means performing an action or legal act in accordance with the moral and ethical requirements that govern the electoral regulatory system, it consists of the mental state of honesty, of conviction regarding the truth or accuracy of a matter, fact, opinion, or the rectitude of a conduct. Electoral authorities shall reject on substantive grounds the claims, incidents and exceptions that are formulated contradicting the rules of good faith or with manifest abuse of right or in fraud of law.

• 13)

  Equality; In accordance with this principle in the application of Electoral Law all persons must be treated in the same way, it recognizes the equal equalization of all citizens in civil and political rights, therefore, the law must guarantee that no individual or group of individuals is privileged or discriminated against by the state, without distinction of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender, national origin, color, ethnic origin, religion or other characteristics whether personal or collective without partiality.

• 14)

  Parity; A principle used to guarantee equality between men and women in access to positions of political representation. A criterion stipulated in the Law to ensure equal participation in the definition of candidacies.

APPLICABLE SYSTEMS. The processes regulated by this Law must observe the systems of simple majority and proportional representation as appropriate.

HIERARCHY OF APPLICATION. The hierarchy of the electoral legal system must be subject to the following order:

• 1)

  The Constitution of the Republic;

• 2)

  International Treaties of which Honduras is a party;

• 3)

  This Law;

• 4)

  Electoral Procedural Law;

• 5)

  Law on Financing, Transparency and Oversight of Political Parties and Candidates;

• 6)

  Other special laws that regulate electoral matters;

• 7)

  Regulations issued by the National Electoral Council (CNE);

• 8)

  Agreements and resolutions adopted by the National Electoral Council (CNE);

• 9)

  The Bylaws of political parties and alliances and mergers agreements legally recognized and registered with the National Electoral Council (CNE) when applicable; and, 10) Agreements executed by the National Electoral Council (CNE). TITLE II ELECTORAL ORGANIZATION CHAPTER I ELECTORAL BODIES

NATIONAL ELECTORAL COUNCIL. The National Electoral Council (CNE) is the special, autonomous and independent body, without relations of subordination to the Powers of the State, created in the Constitution of the Republic, with exclusive competence to perform the administrative and technical acts and procedures of internal, primary, general elections, plebiscite and referendum or citizen consultations. It has competence throughout the national territory and its address is the Capital of the Republic. Its composition, organization, functioning, systems and processes are of national security and must have an internal audit. All authorities have the obligation to provide it with the cooperation and assistance it requires for the fulfillment of its purpose. The agreements and resolutions issued by the National Electoral Council (CNE) in matters of its competence, are subject to the appeal or challenge remedy before the Electoral Justice Court (TJE), in accordance with the law.

PURPOSE OF THE NATIONAL ELECTORAL COUNCIL. The National Electoral Council (CNE) has the purpose of guaranteeing the respect of the political rights of citizens to elect and be elected, in periodic and authentic elections, carried out by universal and equal suffrage and by direct and secret vote that guarantees the free expression of the will of voters. For which, it must administer electoral processes, plebiscites and referendums or citizen consultations; register and exercise supervision regarding compliance with the law by political parties, internal movements, their alliances, candidates and independent candidacies; and, provide education, training and capacity-building in the civic and electoral sphere, which allows citizens the full exercise of their political-electoral rights; seeking the inclusion of all sectors of society in the democratic life of the nation.

OBJECTIVES OF THE NATIONAL ELECTORAL COUNCIL. The objectives of the National Electoral Council (CNE) are the following:

• 1)

  Guarantee respect for popular sovereignty, the free exercise of suffrage and the strengthening of democracy;

• 2)

  Be the specialized administrative and technical body of the State, in political-electoral matters;

• 3)

  Organize and administer territorially electoral processes;

• 4)

  Guarantee, within the scope of its competence, the free exercise of political-electoral rights;

• 5)

  Strengthen the organization and functioning of political parties, internal movements, as well as alliances, candidates and independent candidacies;

• 6)

  Develop electoral processes efficiently and transparently; and,

• 7)

  Organize and maintain in operation the National Institute of Political-Electoral Training.

REQUIREMENTS TO BE A COUNSELOR. To be a member of the National Electoral Council (CNE) the following are required:

• 1)

  Be Honduran by birth;

• 2)

  Be over thirty (30) years of age;

• 3)

  Possess a university degree;

• 4)

  Be of recognized suitability; and,

• 5)

  Be in full exercise of one's civil rights.

INELIGIBILITIES TO BE A COUNSELOR. The following cannot be members of the National Electoral Council:

• 1)

  Those who have a family relationship within the fourth degree of consanguinity and second degree of affinity with each other;

• 2)

  Those who have a family relationship within the fourth degree of consanguinity and second degree of affinity with the President of the Republic and those designated to the Presidency of the Republic; and,

• 3)

  Those who at the time of being elected are nominated or hold positions of popular election.

ELECTION AND INTEGRATION OF THE NATIONAL ELECTORAL COUNCIL. The National Electoral Council (CNE) is composed of three (3) principal counselors and two (2) alternate counselors, elected by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of all members of the National Congress, for a period of five (5) years, and may be reelected, provided they again undergo the election processes established by Law.

CONSTITUTION OF THE PLENARY OF THE NATIONAL ELECTORAL COUNCIL. For the holding of sessions and the making of its decisions, the National Electoral Council (CNE) is constituted in Plenary with three (3) counselors, of which at least two (2) must be principal counselors.

INTERNAL ORGANIZATION OF THE NATIONAL ELECTORAL COUNCIL. The principal counselors of the National Electoral Council (CNE) must elect among themselves a President, who will serve in a rotating manner, for a term of one (1) year. The election must be made at the first session held and no Counselor may repeat said position until all have held it. The National Electoral Council (CNE) must approve a Rules of Procedure to establish the procedures, deadlines, voting mechanisms, as well as the monitoring of the agreements and resolutions it approves.

DUTIES AND RIGHTS OF PRINCIPAL COUNSELORS. The duties and rights of principal counselors are the following:

• 1)

  To resolve matters brought to their attention in order of precedence;

• 2)

  To participate in sessions of the National Electoral Council (CNE) with the right to speak and vote;

• 3)

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

• 4)

  It is the responsibility of the President of the Council to represent the National Electoral Council (CNE) and when the President is unable, it shall be delegated to one of the Counselors;

• 5)

  To record in the minutes the reasoning of their vote, the criteria, opinions and positions on specific matters that are discussed in the session and to obtain immediate certification of their action;

• 6)

  To request that topics of interest for the Plenary to pronounce upon be included in the agenda; and,

• 7)

  To excuse themselves from knowing any matter in which they have been a party or have already pronounced upon.

PROHIBITIONS TO COUNSELORS. Counselors cannot:

• 1)

  Perform or participate directly or indirectly in any partisan activity;

• 2)

  Hold any paid position, except those who provide professional services in the area of health and teaching;

• 3)

  Express publicly or insinuate their opinions regarding matters that by law they are called to resolve, refraining from paying attention to or basing their judgment on allegations made by petitioners or any other person outside the process;

• 4)

  Acquire property from the National Electoral Council (CNE) for themselves or for third parties;

• 5)

  Be absent from sessions without justified cause;

• 6)

  Refuse to sign the minutes, orders, decisions, agreements, decrees and resolutions of the National Electoral Council (CNE);

• 7)

  Direct congratulations or censures for their actions to public officials, authorities of political parties, alliances, candidates for elective office and independent candidacies;

• 8)

  Use information available to them by reason of their position for purposes other than the exercise of their functions, or disclose it by any means; and,

• 9)

  Be a party in the private sphere of commercial companies or enterprises that contract with the State. Electoral counselors are subject to the procedures and responsibilities established in the Constitution of the Republic and the law.

POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT COUNCILOR. The President Councilor has the following powers:

• 1)

  To exercise the legal representation of the Council, which may be delegated to any of the proprietary councilors;

• 2)

  To grant powers of representation;

• 3)

  To convene and preside over ordinary and extraordinary sessions of the Council, as well as to suspend them when reasonably justified, of which written evidence must be kept;

• 4)

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

• 5)

  To guarantee the unity and cohesion of the activities of the Council's bodies;

• 6)

  To monitor compliance with agreements adopted by the Council itself;

• 7)

  To convene, prior to a decision by the Plenary, the Electoral Advisory Council.

• 8)

  To authorize the books or registers determined by law or by the National Electoral Council (CNE);

• 9)

  To supervise the functioning of the departments of the National Electoral Council (CNE);

• 10)

  To sign and seal the autos or orders issued in the processing of files;

• 11)

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

• 12)

  To integrate one of the substitute councilors when any of the proprietaries is absent;

• 13)

  To establish by agreement of the majority of the National Electoral Council (CNE), the specific activities that substitute councilors must execute, and;

• 14)

  Those others established by the Constitution and the law.

SUBSTITUTE COUNCILORS. The substitute councilors must carry out the activities assigned to them by agreement of the majority of the National Electoral Council (CNE). They shall integrate the Plenary in case they are called, in accordance with the law. The Substitute Councilors have the same rights and duties of the Proprietary Councilors when they integrate the Plenary. The manner of integrating the substitute councilors into the Plenary must be on an alternate basis.

REGARDING THE CONVENING OF SESSIONS OF THE NATIONAL ELECTORAL COUNCIL. The sessions of the National Electoral Council (CNE) must be convened by the President Councilor, through the General Secretariat, who must include on the agenda the matters that the Plenary determines to address. Said convocation must be made in writing, and must be accompanied by documents that support the matters to be discussed and must be made at least twenty-four (24) hours before the date of its holding. Prior convocation shall not be necessary when all proprietary councilors are present and decide by mutual agreement to hold the session with the agenda of matters to be discussed. One of the proprietary councilors may request that the President convene a Session to address the matters indicated in their request, who, in turn, shall notify the other councilors in writing. If the president does not convene a session on the requested date and time, it shall be held twenty-four (24) hours after that date with the presence of the majority of the proprietary councilors.

REGARDING SESSIONS. The National Electoral Council (CNE) must make its decisions in plenary sessions convened in advance or in those convened by mutual agreement, which require a quorum in accordance with what is established in this law, among which the President Councilor must be present with the exception of sessions that are subject to the last paragraph of the previous article. The National Electoral Council (CNE) must hold at least one ordinary monthly session and, once the call for primary and general elections has been made, must hold sessions on a mandatory basis, at least once a week. The President Councilor may convene an extraordinary session when deemed necessary or at the request of any of the proprietary councilors.

AGREEMENTS AND RESOLUTIONS OF THE NATIONAL ELECTORAL COUNCIL. VALIDITY, PUBLICITY AND TRANSPARENCY. The agreements and resolutions of the National Electoral Council (CNE) must be made in a Session of the Plenary of Councilors, by majority vote. Everything discussed in the session must be recorded in a numbered and sealed minutes, signed by the proprietary councilors present in the respective Plenary Session and in case a Substitute Councilor is integrated due to the absence of a Proprietary Councilor, they must sign in the capacity of the latter. None of the councilors that make up the plenary may abstain from voting, but in case of voting against, they must explain their vote. The agreements and resolutions shall be read and approved at the end of the Session for purposes of their validity and immediate execution, except in the case of acts and resolutions of a general nature that must be previously published in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta", for the legal purposes of notification and knowledge. The legitimacy of the agreements and resolutions of the National Electoral Council (CNE) is presumed and it has the power to execute them through its competent bodies, without prior warning. The Council must keep copies in physical and digital format of each of the minutes of the Plenary sessions, which must be published on the institution's website for public consultation.

POWERS OF THE NATIONAL ELECTORAL COUNCIL. In addition to the powers of the National Electoral Council (CNE) set forth in the Constitution of the Republic, said Council has, among others, the following powers: 1) Regarding the promotion of civic and democratic principles and values: a) Approve and execute programs to promote civic and democratic principles and values, promote citizen participation and civic education; b) Provide, upon request, technical assistance and logistical support within the scope of its possibilities, to organizations and institutions that propose to implement mechanisms of democratic exercise; c) Enter into contracts and agreements within its area of competence with institutions, natural or legal persons, national or foreign; d) Promote the development of democratic practices in youth and political participation of women; and, e) Conduct civic education campaigns, citizen training and guidance. 2) Regarding political parties and independent candidacies, when appropriate according to law: a) Approve the registration of political parties, their internal movements, their alliances and mergers, as well as their candidates; b) Approve the registration of independent candidacies; c) Order the cancellation and liquidation of political parties and independent candidacies; d) Enforce regulations regarding political inclusion; e) Approve their bylaws, declaration of principles, programs of political action, gender equity and their reforms of parity and alternation; f) Assist political parties in the development of internal electoral processes; g) Support, at the request of political parties, the processes of election of their candidates, when they do not hold primary elections; h) Know of administrative infractions and, where applicable, impose the corresponding sanctions in the terms provided by law; and, i) Prepare and approve the necessary regulations without infringing the limits set on regulatory authority, nor exceeding the scope and provisions established by law, nor altering its spirit, changing the essential meaning and scope thereof. 3) Regarding Electoral Processes:

• a)

  Organize, direct, administer and supervise electoral processes;

• b)

  Call for primary and general elections;

• c)

  Issue the necessary regulations for electoral processes, in all matters concerning campaign and electoral propaganda, manifestations and gatherings in public places, surveys and opinion polls, as well as electoral information centers and voting abroad;

• d)

  Approve the electoral schedule for each process, an integral plan for disability care and electoral security plans;

• e)

  Train the members of electoral bodies in collaboration and coordination with political parties and/or independent candidacies;

• f)

  Appoint members of electoral bodies at the proposal of political parties; or failing that, their replacement when a political party does not present its proposal to integrate these bodies;

• g)

  Accredit national and international observers;

• h)

  Publish through the electronic mechanisms determined by law, the records of each vote-receiving board as soon as they are received by the National Electoral Council (CNE);

• i)

  Conduct the definitive general count in electoral processes, based on the closing records signed by the members of the Vote-Receiving Boards and other mechanisms established by law;

• j)

  Require all members of vote-receiving boards to submit certifications of closing records; when the original record does not appear or presents inconsistencies or alterations;

• k)

  Make the integration and declaration of elected candidates and authorities, where applicable;

• l)

  Issue credentials to candidates elected to positions of popular election;

• m)

  Prepare, purge and update the National Electoral Census (CNE) and voter lists, based on information provided to it by the National Registry of Persons (RNP);

• n)

  Keep the Electoral Geographic Political Division updated; o) Know and rule on administrative actions for annulment of electoral results pronounced by the Vote-Receiving Board; p) Approve the preparation of documentation and electoral material and equipment necessary for the electoral process; q) Establish, in appropriate cases, special voting mechanisms and electronic counting and a greater number of voting booths in departments where possible; r) Extend certified copies of closing records, when requested by those who participated in an election, the petitioner assuming the costs in each case; and, s) Create the Gender Unit as an administrative unit to oversee the execution of parity and alternation. 4) Regarding its organization and operation:

  • a)

    Administer and determine the organization of the Council, through the creation, merger or elimination of permanent and temporary departments, both at the central, regional, departmental and municipal levels, assigning them powers and determining the requirements for the performance of positions.

  • b)

    Appoint, evaluate, promote, remove, and sanction the officials and employees of the institution;

  • c)

    Issue the Rules of Procedure of the National Electoral Council (CNE);

  • d)

    Issue agreements, regulations, instructive guidelines and resolutions;

  • e)

    Prepare the Annual Budget Project for Income and Expenses and budget liquidation for submission to the National Congress;

  • f)

    Prepare special budgets for primary elections and general elections for submission to the National Congress;

  • g)

    Approve the Annual Operating Plan and strategic plans of the institution;

  • h)

    Present to the Legislative Branch an Annual Report of its Activities;

  • i)

    Create auxiliary commissions;

  • j)

    Establish, maintain and disseminate an Electoral Statistics System;

  • k)

    Create and maintain documentation centers, libraries and specialized museums, physical and/or electronic on matters within its competence;

  • l)

    Investigate ex officio or, upon request, the facts it considers as infractions to the law and resolve in accordance with its powers and competencies;

  • m)

    Determine the structure and operation of the National Institute for Political Electoral Training, through regulations approved by the National Electoral Council (CNE);

  • n)

    Appoint by unanimous vote of the proprietary advisors and in accordance with law, the Internal Auditor; o) Issue opinions and reports that are legally required of it, in matters within its competence; and, p) Other powers conferred upon it by law.

FINANCIAL RESOURCES FOR THE NATIONAL ELECTORAL COUNCIL. The National Electoral Council (CNE) must be provided with the necessary financial resources to fulfill its permanent functions and others set forth in this Law, these being:

• 1)

  Ordinary budget, thereby guaranteeing its administrative, functional and financial independence;

• 2)

  Special budget for primary elections and general elections; and,

• 3)

  Funds that must be contributed as matching funds by executed agreements. Given the character of national security institution that the National Electoral Council (CNE) has, it is mandatory that the State Department of Finance (SEFIN) make the provisions and disbursements of the budgeted funds approved by the National Congress in a timely manner, according to the official development of the Electoral Activities Schedule. Violation of this provision will result in the civil, administrative and/or criminal liabilities that correspond.

FIVE-YEAR BUDGET VISION. The National Electoral Council (CNE) is obligated to prepare and send to the National Congress the Five-Year Strategic Development Plan with its respective budget vision to expedite and optimize the execution of electoral processes, in the period for which they were elected.

TEMPORARY ABSENCES. A temporary absence is the non-presence of one or more advisors with prior permission, extended by the National Electoral Council (CNE). Approval of said permission must be recorded in Minutes and the alternate advisor designated by the President will be integrated. If the absence is that of the President, the alternate advisor will be integrated by the advisor who presided in the previous year. Temporary absences are those caused by force majeure or act of God, duly accredited.

UNJUSTIFIED ABSENCE. An unjustified absence is one in which, without prior permission, a Proprietary or Alternate Advisor fails to attend sessions legally called by the National Electoral Council (CNE). In case of unjustified absence, the temporary vacancy must be filled for the duration of the absence, in the manner provided in the previous article; all this without prejudice to the criminal, civil or administrative liability that may be incurred.

Permanent absence of a Councilor is that which results from death, resignation, special or absolute disqualification, civil interdiction, and incapacity due to illness or disability for more than one year, whether continuous or not, and in cases of conviction sentence in a political trial. In these cases, the National Congress must proceed with the election of the substitute in accordance with what is provided in Articles 52 and 54 of the Constitution of the Republic and the law, for the time necessary to complete the period of the replaced person.

Creation of the Special Legislative Commission. The Presidency of the National Congress must appoint a Special Legislative Commission, comprised of a President, two (2) secretaries and other members formed by the parliamentary groups represented in the National Congress, at least three (3) months before the conclusion of the term of the councilors in office, for the sole purpose of publicly summoning, receiving proposals, evaluating and selecting, in accordance with what is established in Article 52 of the Constitution of the Republic, the curriculum vitae of the candidates to occupy the positions of Councilors of the National Electoral Council (CNE) as follows: Three (3) principal Councilors and two (2) alternate Councilors. The proceedings of this Special Commission must be recorded in Minutes and its decisions require a simple majority.

Call for Candidates. Form. The Commission must make the public call to apply for the established positions, through various means of communication, on the day following its appointment.

Term and Place for Receipt of Proposals. The deadline for receiving proposals must be five (5) calendar days, counted from the day following the Call for Candidates, at the place where the Office of the National Congress is located and during business hours from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. Once the five (5) day period is closed, no more applications will be accepted after the closure is made and the respective minutes are drawn up.

Requirements. The candidates who apply must meet the requirements established in Article 52 of the Constitution of the Republic, those established in this Law, and document:

• 1)

  Curriculum Vitae and supporting documents;

• 2)

  University Degree;

• 3)

  National Identification Document, National Tax Registry and Judicial Record Sheet; and,

• 4)

  Conditions of suitability.

PROPOSAL AND ELECTION. Once the Call for Applications is closed, the Special Legislative Commission has a period of three (3) calendar days to carry out the curriculum evaluation process of the applicants and select those who qualify for the second phase of Public Interview Hearing. The selected candidates must be summoned immediately and interviewed following alphabetical order; this stage must be carried out within a maximum period of five (5) calendar days. Once this phase is concluded, the Special Legislative Commission must make the final selection and submit the proposal within the following three (3) calendar days to the Board of Directors of the National Congress. The Board of Directors of the National Congress must submit to the Plenary for the final election of the Counselors, with the favorable vote of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the deputies. CHAPTER III COMMON PROVISIONS TO OTHER ELECTORAL BODIES

ELECTORAL BODIES. The following are electoral bodies:

• 1)

  The National Electoral Council (CNE);

• 2)

  The Departmental Electoral Councils;

• 3)

  The Municipal Electoral Councils; and,

• 4)

  The Vote Receiving Boards.

REQUIREMENTS TO BE A MEMBER OF ELECTORAL BODIES. Members of Electoral Bodies appointed and accredited by the National Electoral Council. Members of electoral bodies, departmental councils and municipal councils receive the salary assigned to them by the National Electoral Council and are considered State officials during the period in which they perform their functions; furthermore, they must be citizens registered in the census of the department or municipality in which they hold said position.

DISQUALIFICATIONS. The following cannot be members of electoral bodies:

• 1)

  The President of the Republic, deputies to the Congress of the Republic and Magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice;

• 2)

  Public officials or employees;

• 3)

  State concessionaires for the exploitation of natural resources or contractors for public services and works paid with State funds;

• 4)

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

• 5)

  Citizens registered as candidates for positions of popular election;

• 6)

  Citizens who hold a position of popular election; and,

• 7)

  Managers and Presidents of decentralized and deconcentrated institutions; The disqualification referred to in numeral 2) of this article is not applicable to members of the Vote Receiving Boards.

SUPERVENING DISQUALIFICATION. If, once the electoral body is installed, a disqualification of those established in the previous Article arises with respect to any of its members, the affected person must cease their position immediately.

The validity of resolutions of the departmental and municipal electoral bodies, as well as of the Vote Receiving Boards, is valid when adopted by majority vote. In no case, members of electoral bodies may abstain from voting in favor or against matters that are decided, but they may reason their vote.

Members of electoral bodies are prohibited from: 1) Entering the premises where electoral bodies operate with weapons of any kind, while intoxicated or under the effects of any other type of illicit drugs; and, 2) Participating in partisan political activities while holding their positions.

The following are legitimate causes that must be substantiated for resigning from a position as a member of a departmental and municipal electoral body:

• 1)

  Being within the ineligibilities established in this Law;

• 2)

  Illness or qualified physical or mental incapacity;

• 3)

  Domestic hardship;

• 4)

  Change of residence; and,

• 5)

  Acceptance of employment legally incompatible with the exercise of the position. In any case, the interested party must substantiate the cause invoked.

Members of electoral bodies shall cease their functions for the following causes:

• 1)

  Death of the official;

• 2)

  Resignation from office;

• 3)

  Incurring in any of the ineligibilities specified by the Law;

• 4)

  Expiration of the period for which they were appointed or hired;

• 5)

  Rescission or termination of the contract; and,

• 6)

  Those other causes established by the Constitution and the laws.

Members of electoral bodies, both national, departmental and municipal, as well as Vote Receiving Boards proposed in accordance with the Law and representatives of political parties and independent candidacies in general elections, are obligated to attend and receive training provided by the National Institute of Political Electoral Training with the collaboration of political parties and departmental and municipal electoral bodies, through the mechanisms that the National Electoral Council (CNE) shall establish by regulation.

RESPONSIBILITY OF THE NATIONAL ELECTORAL COUNCIL TO MAINTAIN A HISTORY OF CITIZENS IN DEPARTMENTAL, MUNICIPAL CASES AND IN VOTE RECEIVING BOARDS. The National Electoral Council (CNE) is responsible for maintaining and keeping updated an individualized and confidential history of citizens who have participated as members of any electoral body at both the departmental and municipal level and of the vote receiving boards, which contains a detailed report that accredits the performance of their actions in electoral processes, so that they may or may not be called in future processes. CHAPTER IV DEPARTMENTAL ELECTORAL COUNCILS

DEPARTMENTAL ELECTORAL COUNCIL. In the eighteen (18) departments of the national territory, a Departmental Electoral Council must function, which must be made up of five (5) principal members with their respective alternates, who shall be appointed by the National Electoral Council (CNE) at the proposal of the political parties in the following manner: A president, a secretary, and the first voting member who shall correspond to the political parties that obtained the greatest number of votes at the presidential level in the last general election, and the second and third voting members at the proposal of the other political parties. The National Electoral Council (CNE) shall make the distribution of positions for each political party as appropriate for the first three (3) positions among the majority parties and the two (2) remaining voting members for the other parties, in random form. For general elections, said Council shall be formed from sixty (60) days before the holding of the elections and shall cease its functions fifteen (15) days after the declaration.

FUNCTIONS OF THE DEPARTMENTAL ELECTORAL COUNCIL. The Departmental Electoral Council has the following functions:

• 1)

  To communicate in its departmental jurisdiction the appointment of the members of the Municipal Electoral Councils;

• 2)

  To hear and resolve complaints related to electoral functions against members of the Municipal Electoral Councils; the resolutions on this matter must be sent in consultation to the National Electoral Council (CNE), without prejudice to the fact that those affected may make use of the legal remedies that are available to them for their defense;

• 3)

  To convene and preside over working meetings of the members of the Municipal Electoral Councils, when the importance of matters to be addressed with respect to the electoral process requires it;

• 4)

  To hear on electoral administrative matters submitted for its consideration by the Municipal Electoral Councils;

• 5)

  To consult with the National Electoral Council (CNE) on problems that arise regarding the exercise of its functions and the general application of this Law;

• 6)

  To bring before the National Electoral Council (CNE) reports of irregularities whose solution is beyond its competence;

• 7)

  To attend the working meetings agreed upon by the National Electoral Council (CNE);

• 8)

  To participate with the National Institute of Political-Electoral Formation in the training processes in political-electoral matters that it requires;

• 9)

  To receive, for informational purposes, certified copies of the closing records prepared by the Municipal Electoral Councils; and,

• 10)

  The other functions that, in accordance with the nature of its positions, the National Electoral Council (CNE) assigns to it. CHAPTER V MUNICIPAL ELECTORAL COUNCILS

MUNICIPAL ELECTORAL COUNCIL. In the two hundred ninety-eight (298) municipalities of the national territory, a Municipal Electoral Council shall function that shall be made up of five (5) principal members with their respective alternates, who shall be appointed by the National Electoral Council (CNE) at the proposal of the political parties in the following manner: A president, a secretary, and the first voting member who shall correspond to the political parties that obtained the greatest number of votes at the presidential level in the last general election, and the second and third voting members at the proposal of the other political parties. The National Electoral Council (CNE) shall make the distribution of positions for each political party as appropriate for the first three (3) positions among the majority parties and the two (2) remaining voting members for the other parties, in random form. For general elections, said Council shall be formed from forty-five (45) days before the holding of the elections and shall cease its functions fifteen (15) days after they are held.

FUNCTIONS OF THE MUNICIPAL ELECTORAL COUNCIL. The Municipal Electoral Council has the following functions:

• 1)

  To publicly display the electoral lists and all information related to the electoral process;

• 2)

  To serve as a link between the National Electoral Council (CNE) and local authorities of the political parties;

• 3)

  To participate with the National Institute of Political-Electoral Formation in the training processes in political-electoral matters that it requires;

• 4)

  To receive from the National Electoral Council (CNE) the electoral material and deliver it to the Vote Receiving Boards;

• 5)

  To ensure the functioning of voting centers and vote receiving boards on election day; and,

• 6)

  To receive, for informational purposes, certified copy of the closing records from all Vote Receiving Boards, sending them for informational purposes immediately to the Departmental Electoral Council. CHAPTER VI VOTE RECEIVING BOARDS

COMPOSITION OF POLLING PLACE BOARDS IN GENERAL ELECTIONS. The Polling Place Boards in general elections shall be composed of 5 principal members with voice and vote, and their respective alternates, appointed by Political Parties. The assignment of each position on the Polling Place Board shall be determined as follows: one President, one Secretary, one Scrutineer, assigned equitably to the three most voted political parties at the presidential level in the last primary election, based on their proposal; and, two (2) members appointed by the National Electoral Council (CNE) at the proposal of the other political parties in contention, who shall be designated by rotation beginning with the oldest parties, in all of the Polling Place Boards throughout the country. Scrutiny shall be mandatory public, and members of the Polling Place Board who do not permit or prevent scrutiny from taking place publicly shall incur criminal liability. The distribution that according to this article the National Electoral Council (CNE) makes shall be delivered to political parties at least 60 days before general elections. Members of polling place boards shall perform their assigned positions on a voluntary basis.

OBSERVER DELEGATES AT THE POLLING PLACE BOARDS Political parties and independent candidates that do not have representatives on the Polling Place Boards in general elections shall accredit observer delegates before the National Electoral Council (CNE) for each Polling Place Board, who must remain at a distance of no less than three meters from the polling place boards in order not to hinder voting, from the beginning until the end of elections. They may report irregularities in said process, which must be recorded on the incidents sheet.

INSTALLATION OF POLLING PLACE BOARDS If at the beginning of voting, the majority of principal members or their incorporated alternates are present, the Polling Place Board shall be installed. The principal member or members and the alternate who are absent must be incorporated at the moment they appear and occupy the position for which they were appointed. The circumstances above must be recorded on the respective incidents sheets.

OBLIGATION TO BE A MEMBER OF POLLING PLACE BOARDS IN PRIMARY AND GENERAL ELECTIONS Acceptance of the position of member of Polling Place Boards is mandatory and may only be relinquished for the causes established by law. For those persons who work on election day, public and private employers are obligated to grant leave with pay to members of Polling Place Boards and, furthermore, to give them paid time off the day following the elections.

EXERCISE OF POSITIONS BY MEMBERS OF POLLING PLACE BOARDS Members of Polling Place Boards selected and appointed must exercise their positions independently, subject to the law and respectful of the hierarchical relationship of superior electoral bodies. Principal and alternate members of Polling Place Boards who exercise their positions must sign the minutes and other documentation in the position they have performed, and must record said circumstance on the corresponding incidents sheet.

Location of Vote Receiving Boards in Primary and General Elections. In primary and general elections, Vote Receiving Boards must be located in voting centers previously established by the National Electoral Council (CNE) and in the successive order determined by it. For their proper functioning, the visible characteristics that individualize each Vote Receiving Board shall be determined by regulation and, furthermore, shall provide voters with adequate information conditions for the exercise of their right to vote.

Number of Voters per Vote Receiving Board. In each voting center, Vote Receiving Boards shall be installed according to the number of voters registered at the time of closing registrations in the national electoral census. The Vote Receiving Board shall open with a minimum of one hundred (100) and up to a maximum of six hundred (600) voters domiciled in the electoral sector; however, the National Electoral Council (CNE), for reasons of geographic dispersion of municipalities or lack of access to them, may authorize the opening of a vote receiving board with a number less than one hundred (100) voters. In primary elections, the National Electoral Council (CNE) must define the minimum and maximum number of citizens for each Vote Receiving Board.

Special Verification and Recount Boards. Special Verification and Recount Boards must be integrated and function in the same manner as Vote Receiving Boards selected and appointed by the National Electoral Council (CNE), in accordance with what is established in this law prior to approval of the corresponding training; they shall exercise their functions for the cases and within the deadlines that are determined.

Information Centers. The location of information centers for Political Parties, Alliances and Independent Candidacies participating in elections shall be regulated by regulation by the National Electoral Council (CNE). CHAPTER VII ELECTORAL CONSULTATIVE COUNCIL

Electoral Consultative Council. The Electoral Consultative Council is an instance of consultation and collaboration with the National Electoral Council (CNE), which has within its powers the observation of electoral processes and the channeling of complaints and claims; for such purposes it must be convened to sessions by the National Electoral Council (CNE).

COMPOSITION OF THE ELECTORAL CONSULTATIVE COUNCIL. The Electoral Consultative Council must be composed, as of the call for general elections, by one principal delegate and their respective alternate accredited by each of the legally registered political parties. Fully registered total alliances have the right to only one representative and registered independent candidacies at the presidential level shall have the right to accredit one delegate.

RIGHT TO UPDATED MAGNETIC COPY OF THE NATIONAL ELECTORAL CENSUS. Political parties, alliances and independent candidacies at the presidential level that make up the Electoral Consultative Council have the right, as of the call for the respective elections and until the issuance of the final list of voters, to a monthly copy, in magnetic media, of the national electoral census, in order to verify that the updating process is carried out effectively and that the Electoral Consultative Council issues its observations to the National Electoral Council (CNE).

POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE ELECTORAL CONSULTATIVE COUNCIL. The Electoral Consultative Council, on its own initiative or at the request of the National Electoral Council (CNE), may formulate recommendations relating to the electoral process. Once general elections have been called, the National Electoral Council (CNE) must convene the Consultative Council to address electoral matters at least monthly. Members of the Electoral Consultative Council must participate in sessions of the National Electoral Council (CNE) to which they are called, with the right to speak but without the right to vote, performing their functions on an ad-honorem basis. The Electoral Consultative Council shall end its functions with the Declaration of General Elections. CHAPTER VIII NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR POLITICAL-ELECTORAL TRAINING

NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR POLITICAL-ELECTORAL TRAINING. The National Institute for Political-Electoral Training is a technical and educational body, dependent on the National Electoral Council (CNE), whose main function is to formulate and execute programs of education, training and capacity-building, directed at members and sympathizers of political parties, members of electoral bodies and the general citizenry, for electoral training and the promotion of democratic values and political civic participation.

FUNCTIONS OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR POLITICAL-ELECTORAL TRAINING. The Institute has the following functions:

• 1)

  To train affiliates and sympathizers of political parties on topics of electoral administration, democracy and internal organization; as well as on topics of civic training, emphasizing the promotion of youth, leadership development under the principles of gender equity and political inclusion;

• 2)

  To establish basic curriculum on matters of political electoral regulations and those related to the values and principles of the democratic system and to collaborate with the training units of political parties in the execution of training programs specific to each political organization;

• 3)

  To train all candidates running for elective office, Municipal Corporations, deputies to the National Congress, deputies to Parlacen and presidential tickets, on electoral matters and to coordinate with other public institutions courses related to the exercise of public office;

• 4)

  To design and execute training programs for the general citizenry, with emphasis on those sectors with difficulties for their participation in the political life of the country;

• 5)

  To organize training and capacity-building programs throughout the country, particularly in rural areas, aimed at informing the population regarding the exercise of political and electoral rights, in order to promote the participation of these populations in municipal, departmental, subregional, regional and national politics;

• 6)

  To generate and execute training programs for the citizenry in order to promote the effective participation of women, youth, older adults, indigenous peoples, Afro-Hondurans and persons with disabilities, in equity and equal conditions;

• 7)

  To develop permanent and updated processes of technical-political training for the operation of electoral bodies and Vote Receiving Boards;

• 8)

  To promote the principles of democratic culture, civic and political education, parity and alternation, which allows guaranteeing their training and effective participation;

• 9)

  To promote the dissemination of knowledge on matters of political systems, history of institutions, human rights and democratic values;

• 10)

  To provide information to the citizenry on the democratic system and the role of publicly elected officials;

• 11)

  To prepare and execute training programs that develop electoral competencies, directed to officials, political parties and citizens involved in the management of elections;

• 12)

  To prepare and design training modules, didactic methodology and the content of the different plans and programs for the fulfillment of its mission;

• 13)

  To define the requirements that citizens must meet to integrate electoral bodies and to carry out their training and evaluation;

• 14)

  To coordinate with the State Department in the Office of Education and public and private universities, the formulation of electoral civic education programs aimed at the student population, in order to strengthen the civic and democratic values of the citizenry;

• 15)

  To manage the execution of agreements with universities, civil society organizations, foundations, associations, unions and community organizations, aimed at promoting citizen participation;

• 16)

  To promote the development of research and publications on topics related to democracy and elections;

• 17)

  To organize and manage a documentation center specialized in democracy and elections, accessible to the citizenry and with the application of information technology techniques; and,

• 18)

  Any other function assigned to it by the National Electoral Council (CNE).

INSTITUTE BUDGET. The Institute must operate with a defined budgetary allocation, incorporated into the official budget of the National Electoral Council (CNE), without prejudice to the fact that, to fulfill its objectives, the Institute may manage and receive, in accordance with the Law, national and international donations and, furthermore, manage cooperation agreements with institutions or organizations related to education and civic training, provided that it does not compromise in any way its neutrality and independence.

The National Electoral Council (CNE), through the Training Institute, shall allocate a budgetary item equivalent to 10% of what was paid as political debt to the winning party in general elections, to each political party, for use in training and political and ideological training of its membership. The use of such funds shall be supervised by the Training Institute in order to guarantee their proper use and must be liquidated before the National Electoral Council (CNE).

ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE OF THE INSTITUTE. The minimum structure of the Institute is constituted by a director, a subdirector, and an academic coordinator, with its administrative functioning regulated by means of the Regulations that the National Electoral Council (CNE) shall elaborate and approve by unanimous vote. TITLE III CITIZENSHIP AND ELECTORAL PARTICIPATION CHAPTER I CITIZENSHIP: RIGHTS AND DUTIES

CITIZENSHIP. Hondurans who have reached eighteen (18) years of age are citizens. This status is acquired, suspended, lost, or restored by the causes established in the Constitution of the Republic. All Honduran citizens registered in the National Electoral Census and who are authorized to exercise such right have the right to participate by exercising the right to vote in elections.

RIGHTS OF CITIZENS. The political-electoral rights of citizens are:

• 1)

  To obtain their national identification document and be registered in the National Electoral Census (CNE) and in the lists derived from it when applicable;

• 2)

  To participate in free, honest, and transparent elections;

• 3)

  To determine their domicile to participate in elections in accordance with this Law;

• 4)

  To exercise the right to vote in electoral processes;

• 5)

  To associate politically to form political parties;

• 6)

  To join the political organization of their preference and to resign from it;

• 7)

  To run as a candidate to be elected;

• 8)

  To receive education, training, and civic, political, electoral, and citizen participation training;

• 9)

  To file complaints, actions, appeals, and any other type of petitions and obtain a response within legal timeframes, in electoral matters;

• 10)

  To participate in the discussion of public matters, directly or through freely elected representatives;

• 11)

  To obtain protection against any form of discrimination on grounds of race, color, sex, disability, age, political opinions, social origin, economic position, or for any other reason; and,

• 12)

  The others conferred by the Constitution of the Republic and the laws. High-ranking citizens in the Armed Forces and State security forces shall not be able to exercise the right to vote, but they shall be eligible in cases not prohibited by Law.

DUTIES OF CITIZENS. The duties of citizens are:

• 1)

  Comply with the Constitution of the Republic, the laws, regulatory norms, as well as the statutory norms of political parties in their case;

• 2)

  Obtain their national identification document (DNI);

• 3)

  Declare their domicile for electoral purposes and update it;

• 4)

  Exercise the right to vote in the cases provided for by Law;

• 5)

  Serve in positions in electoral bodies, except for justified and accredited excuse or resignation;

• 6)

  Respect the opinions and political rights of others;

• 7)

  Respect the propaganda of political parties, their internal movements, their alliances and candidates; and independent candidacies;

• 8)

  Actively participate in the political life of the nation; and,

• 9)

  The others established in the Constitution of the Republic and the laws;

MEANS OF CITIZEN PARTICIPATION IN ELECTORAL PROCESSES. The following constitute means of citizen participation:

• 1)

  Internal elections through Internal Movements of political parties;

• 2)

  Primary elections through Internal Movements of political parties;

• 3)

  General elections, according to the corresponding elective level through Political Parties, Alliances in the case that applies and Independent Candidacies; and,

• 4)

  Popular consultations.

POLITICAL PROHIBITIONS FOR FOREIGNERS. Foreigners are prohibited from developing political activities of a national and international character in the country. Non-compliance with this provision gives rise to the imposition of administrative and criminal sanctions in accordance with the Law; however, foreigners who have obtained their naturalization may only exercise political rights in the cases established by the laws. CHAPTER II CITIZEN PARTICIPATION

PRINCIPLES OF CITIZEN PARTICIPATION IN ELECTORAL PROCESSES. Citizen participation in electoral processes is based on the following principles:

• 1)

  Respect for human rights;

• 2)

  Respect for laws and the Rule of Law;

• 3)

  Right to citizen participation;

• 4)

  Gender equality;

• 5)

  Respect for the diversity of ideas;

• 6)

  Respect for the rights of persons with disabilities;

• 7)

  Inclusion of youth;

• 8)

  Inclusion of older adults;

• 9)

  Respect for cultural and ethnic diversity;

• 10)

  Promotion of democratic values; and,

• 11)

  Dialogue and tolerance.

INTERESTS PROTECTED BY LEGISLATION. The National Electoral Council (CNE), in the implementation of the actions, procedures and mechanisms referred to in this Chapter, must ensure that the International Treaties and Conventions subscribed by Honduras, the Constitution of the Republic, as well as this Law and any other current law that regulates this matter, are applied, taking into account the interests protected by said legal bodies.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES. The State, through the National Electoral Council (CNE), must ensure that political parties and any other form of political association allow citizens to exercise their political rights equally, voluntary affiliation, access to positions of popular election and participation in all aspects of the life of political organizations and the nation without any discrimination. CHAPTER III PARITY, ALTERNATION AND GENDER EQUALITY

PRINCIPLE OF PARITY. The State guarantees, under the principles of equality and non-discrimination, equal political participation of men and women, and recognizes it as a human right that must be respected in a democratic, representative, participatory and inclusive society. This principle must be applied to positions of popular election and party leadership.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES. To ensure that men and women participate with equal opportunities, political parties must internally approve, through the competent authority, with the non-discriminatory participation of persons of both sexes, a gender and equal opportunities policy, whose compliance must be supervised by the National Electoral Council (CNE). Political parties within six (6) months following the start of each government period of their party authority, are obliged to update their gender and equal opportunities policy and request approval and registration before the National Electoral Council (CNE). Once approved and registered, its compliance is mandatory. The evaluation of the execution of the gender and equal opportunities policy must be carried out by the National Electoral Council (CNE) at any time. For that purpose all political parties must provide the Council with all their cooperation and have the obligation to present a report each year. Political parties that do not submit the application for approval and registration within the specified period or having registered it do not comply with it, shall be sanctioned with a fine equivalent to five percent (5%) of the political debt corresponding to them.

MECHANISMS FOR APPLICATION OF PARITY. To make the principle of parity effective, all slates for all positions of popular election, at all elective levels Presidential Formula with its designated representatives, Slate of Deputies to the National Congress in the list of principals, Slate of Deputies to the Central American Parliament and Municipal Corporations in relation to the position of Mayor and Councilman, as well as authorities of political parties must be composed of fifty percent (50%) women and fifty percent (50%) men. In the slates of Deputies to the National Congress and to the Central American Parliament parity is applicable to both the list of principals and substitutes and in case it is odd for Deputies to the National Congress, the difference between the total of men and women must not exceed one. In those Departments, where representation falls to a single position of party authority or Deputy to the National Congress, the principle of representation of both sexes must be applied, alternately including principals and substitutes. This mechanism must be applied in:

• 1)

  Internal elections, including those of the second degree;

• 2)

  Primary elections;

• 3)

  General elections when political parties have not held a primary election process; and,

• 4)

  Independent candidacies.

ALTERNATION. The slates of candidates presented to the National Electoral Council (CNE) must use the mechanism of gender alternation (woman-man or man-woman) in such a way that two (2) persons of the same sex cannot be consecutive in the slate. This mechanism must be applied to positions of popular election at the presidential elective level with its designated representatives, at the elective level of the National Congress in the list of principals and at the municipal elective level in relation to the position of Mayor and Councilman; and, furthermore, in the case of party authorities, either through direct secret ballot election of its affiliates or in second degree election. Alternation is excepted, conserving parity, in the slates of candidates for alternate deputies. In municipal corporations the obligation of alternation and parity is excepted in the formula of candidates for Mayor and Vice-Mayor. Alternation and parity in municipal corporations apply from the first councilman, who must be of different sex from the candidate for Mayor. TITLE IV SYSTEMS, INSTRUMENTS AND MECHANISMS CHAPTER I POLITICAL SYSTEMS

PRINCIPLE OF SIMPLE MAJORITY AND PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION. The principles of simple majority must be applied in single-member elections and that of proportional representation in multi-member elections, in accordance with the provisions of Article 6 of this Law.

PRINCIPLE OF APPLICATION OF SIMPLE MAJORITY. The principle of simple majority must be applied in single-member elections, in the following manner:

• 1)

  To the elections of President and Vice Presidents of the Republic;

• 2)

  To the elections of Deputies to the National Congress in those departments in which only one (1) deputy is elected in general elections;

• 3)

  To the elections of Deputies to the National Congress in primary elections; and,

• 4)

  To the elections of Mayor and Vice Mayor.

PRINCIPLE OF APPLICATION OF PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION. The principle of application of proportional representation must be applied in multi-member elections, in the following manner:

• 1)

  To the elections of Deputies to the National Congress in the departments that correspond in general elections;

• 2)

  To the elections of Deputies to the Central American Parliament; and,

• 3)

  To the composition of Municipal Corporations. CHAPTER II SUFFRAGE

GUARANTEE OF SUFFRAGE FOR HONDURANS UPON TURNING EIGHTEEN (18) YEARS OF AGE. Hondurans who are seventeen (17) years old and are about to turn eighteen (18) years of age, up to the day that primary and general elections are to be held; have the right to submit their application and obtain their national identification document (DNI), before the competent authority, from the day they turn seventeen (17) years old and up to one hundred five (105) days before the date of the primary and general elections. The National Identity Document (DNI) must be issued for delivery from the day they turn eighteen (18) years of age.

SUFFRAGE OF HONDURANS DOMICILED IN FOREIGN STATES. The National Electoral Council (CNE), has the authority to authorize voting centers in foreign states so that Hondurans domiciled abroad may exercise the right to vote in general elections, solely to elect President and Vice Presidents of the Republic. For the composition, operation, ballot counting and other electoral acts, the provisions of this Law shall apply.

VOTING RIGHTS FOR PERSONS IN SPECIAL CONDITION. The exercise of voting rights is guaranteed for eligible citizens whose physical or health condition does not allow their presence at the Polling Station corresponding to them; the National Electoral Council (CNE) must issue by unanimous vote the regulation for the registration and exercise of voting rights at their place of residence. CHAPTER III NATIONAL ELECTORAL CENSUS

NATIONAL ELECTORAL CENSUS. The National Electoral Census is public, permanent and unalterable. The registration of citizens, as well as modifications occurring due to death, change of domicile, suspension, loss or reinstatement of citizenship, must be verified within the timeframes and with the modalities determined by Law.

PREPARATION AND UPDATING OF THE NATIONAL ELECTORAL CENSUS. For the preparation and updating of the National Electoral Census (CNE), the National Registry of Persons (RNP) has the obligation to provide the National Electoral Council (CNE), on a permanent basis, at no cost, the verified information of citizens who have obtained the national identification document, as well as deaths of the same and registered in its records, changes in personal data that occur due to claims or corrections, and address updates requested at its offices on forms authorized by the National Electoral Council (CNE). In the same manner, it must send to it the information of citizens who have requested the national identification document (DNI). Additionally, the National Electoral Census must be updated with information provided by the competent State institutions, which refers to the recovery of the capacity to exercise political rights and the disqualifications that for any reason fall upon citizens, in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic and this Law.

PUBLIC CHARACTER OF THE NATIONAL ELECTORAL CENSUS. The National Electoral Census is public and its information must be available on a permanent basis through the webpage of the National Electoral Council (CNE). In order to fulfill the electoral function, the National Electoral Council (CNE) must prepare the lists of provisional and definitive voters containing the names and surnames of citizens by Department, Municipality and Polling Center, as well as those considered necessary, guaranteeing the right to personal and family privacy established in the Constitution of the Republic, and, furthermore, must guarantee the notification of citizens regarding their information contained in said lists through personal electronic consultation mechanisms that it regulates.

PERMANENT CHARACTER OF THE NATIONAL ELECTORAL CENSUS. The registration and updating of the National Electoral Census are permanent, through necessary continuous manual and/or technological processes. The updating of the National Electoral Census consists of the inclusion of new citizens, modifications occurring due to death, change of domicile, suspension, loss or reinstatement of citizenship and must be verified within the timeframes and with the modalities determined by Law. The updating process must be suspended from one hundred five (105) calendar days before the date of the celebration of primary and general elections, and resume until the day after the primary and general elections. Those who request the national identification document (DNI) during the suspension period of the updating process may not exercise voting rights and must be incorporated into the National Electoral Census once the updating thereof resumes.

Immutable Character of the National Electoral Census. The National Electoral Census must always maintain the essence and form established by the Constitution of the Republic; once a citizen's registration is completed, it cannot be altered or excluded, except for modifications that are made based on the Law.

Administration of the National Electoral Census. The National Electoral Census is under the custody of the National Electoral Council (CNE), which is the sole responsible party for its administration, which must be conducted under the security mechanisms established by the Council, and must be systematized and automated in such a way as to ensure its integrity and allow constant and updated access to the information it contains. An updated copy of said information must be safeguarded in the.

Obligation of the Powers of the State. The Powers of the State and their dependencies are obligated to provide permanently and free of charge to the National Electoral Council (CNE), information regarding cases of disqualification, rehabilitation, loss or suspension of citizenship, naturalization, and concerning members of the National Police and the Armed Forces who are enlisted or discharged, excepting auxiliary personnel, as well as any other change related to the existence, nationality, and citizenship of persons.

Electoral Political Geographic Division. The Electoral Political Geographic Division is the sectorization made by the National Electoral Council (CNE) of a certain territory, taking as the main element the address of citizens eligible to exercise the right to vote, assigning them an accessible voting center close to their residence, which guarantees such exercise in elections. The Electoral Political Geographic Division approved by the National Electoral Council (CNE) is the one that must be used by the National Registry of Persons (RNP), to assign to citizens at the moment they request their national identification document, the voting center that corresponds to them. The National Electoral Council (CNE) must approve said division taking into consideration the Political Territorial Division established in the Constitution of the Republic and the laws.

Electoral Geographic Sector. The electoral geographic sector is a territorial extension defined by the National Electoral Council (CNE), in which one or more populated areas are grouped within a municipality, to make effective the exercise of the right to vote of citizens in a place close to their residence, constituting this as their electoral address and which must comply with the following characteristics:

• 1)

  That a number of citizens eligible to exercise the right to vote equal to or greater than one hundred (100) reside there;

• 2)

  That there exists accessibility, proximity and geographic continuity between the populated areas; and,

• 3)

  That it has appropriate areas or facilities to establish a voting center, where the Vote Receiving Boards must operate.

CREATION, MODIFICATION AND SUPPRESSION OF ELECTORAL GEOGRAPHIC SECTORS. The National Electoral Council (CNE), through a resolution of the Plenary, must create the geographic sectors that are necessary to guarantee the exercise of suffrage to citizens who are eligible for such purpose, and must also guarantee access to available transportation so that citizens can reach the nearest place where the polling center must be located, in the place closest to their residence. Likewise, it may modify or suppress said sectors already created when the following circumstances occur:

• 1)

  Growth or decrease in population;

• 2)

  Geographic dispersion of towns;

• 3)

  Impossibility of vehicular access;

• 4)

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

• 5)

  Any other circumstance that occurs and that, in the judgment of the National Electoral Council (CNE), warrants a modification or suppression of the sector.

UPDATING OF THE ELECTORAL POLITICAL GEOGRAPHIC DIVISION. The updating of the Electoral Political Geographic Division is permanent; however, said updating must be suspended from ninety (90) calendar days before the date of the celebration of electoral processes in general, and resume the day after the declaration of results. During the suspension period, the Electoral Political Geographic Division may be updated when any of the circumstances described in numerals 3) and 4) of the previous Article occurs. Said updating must be agreed upon by unanimous vote of the National Electoral Council (CNE). In this case, the participating political parties and the general public must be informed immediately through notices in social media. The National Electoral Council (CNE) must periodically inform political parties and independent candidacies, where applicable, of the updates it makes to the Electoral Political Geographic Division.

INVENTORY AND AVAILABILITY OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BUILDINGS. In order to keep the Electoral Political Geographic Division updated, the National Electoral Council (CNE) must timely request the State Secretary in the Department of Education to place at its disposal the 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, hamlet; name of the school or institute; name or number of street or avenue, name and telephone number of the person in charge of the educational center, indicating how many classrooms the school or college has and their physical conditions, and any other information that may be requested of it. All State Secretariats, their dependencies and decentralized, autonomous and semi-autonomous institutions must place at the disposal of the National Electoral Council (CNE) their buildings or facilities for the installation of the Vote Receiving Boards on election day.

SANCTIONS. Public officials who violate or fail to comply with what is established in the two (2) previous articles incur administrative, civil or criminal liability as established by Law. CHAPTER V HOME VOTING AND HOME ADDRESS UPDATING

HOME VOTING. Home voting is the modality that allows the citizen to exercise suffrage at the Vote Receiving Board closest to their residence.

OBLIGATION OF RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS UPDATE. Every citizen who changes residence has the obligation to request before the Municipal Civil Registrar or in the office authorized by the National Electoral Council (CNE) of their new residence, their residential address update and the assignment of a new polling center, respecting the procedure indicated by this Law.

FORMS FOR RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS UPDATE. The National Electoral Council (CNE) is responsible for preparing the forms by which the citizen can request the update of their address. Said forms must be prepared with the security measures that the Council determines and shall be made available to the public in the Municipal Civil Registries and in the offices that the Council enables for that purpose, which may also authorize the use of the form issued by the National Registry of Persons (RNP) for the address update.

REQUIREMENTS FOR RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS UPDATE. The National Electoral Council (CNE) shall authorize the residential address update of a citizen when it complies with the following requirements:

• 1)

  That the citizen request their residential address update before the Municipal Civil Registrar or before the municipal office authorized by the National Electoral Council (CNE) in the municipality of their new residence;

• 2)

  That the citizen who requests their residential address update before the Municipal Civil Registrar or before the municipal office authorized by the National Electoral Council (CNE), has been registered in the municipality where they were born, even if they do not reside there;

• 3)

  That it be presented by the interested party in the form referred to in the previous Article;

• 4)

  That the signature and fingerprints of the interested party be included in the request; and,

• 5)

  That it be signed and sealed by the official before whom the corresponding request was presented. To determine whether the request for residential address update is or is not admissible, among other actions the National Registry of Persons (RNP) shall have the obligation to perform fingerprint verification in the corresponding database and under the parameters established by the National Electoral Council (CNE).

PROCEDURE FOR RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS UPDATE. The citizen who changes their electoral address must appear before the Municipal Civil Registrar or at the offices enabled for that purpose by the National Electoral Council (CNE), notifying their new residence so that their electoral address is updated, declaring under oath the data that must be recorded in the residential address update form and must sign it and place the fingerprints of their index fingers. When the residential address update is carried out before the Municipal Civil Registries, the National Electoral Council (CNE) may exercise the control measures it deems appropriate in order to guarantee the transparency of the residential address update process and assist the officials of the National Registry of Persons (RNP) in the development of this activity. No official or employee of the offices enabled for that purpose by the National Electoral Council (CNE) or of the Municipal Civil Registries, as the case may be, may refuse to process the request for residential address update, except that the petitioner does not comply with the requirements established by this Law. It is prohibited to carry out address updates on its own initiative. The official or employee who fails to comply with the provisions of this Article incurs liability in accordance with the Law.

DEADLINE FOR RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS UPDATE. INCORPORATION OF UPDATES. Requests for residential address update submitted up to fifteen (15) days before the call for primary and general elections must be incorporated into the general list of voters once approved. The list of requests for residential address update incorporated and denied must be published on the website of the National Electoral Council (CNE). Requests for residential address update submitted after the deadline indicated in the previous paragraph must be heard and resolved when the update of the National Electoral Census is restarted on the day after the general elections.

PROHIBITION OF FALSIFYING THE DOMICILIARY DECLARATION. Information on domiciliary updating shall be provided under oath. Falseness in the data provided shall be sanctioned in accordance with the provisions established in current legislation. Without prejudice to the administrative consequences that may be imposed.

RESPONSIBILITY OF THE OFFICIAL. The official who willfully enters false information in the domiciliary updating request and/or does not process it when all the requirements established in the Law are met, incurs the crime of falsification of public documents and/or violation of the duties of public officials, without prejudice to removal from office. Upon the National Electoral Council (CNE) becoming aware of this circumstance, it shall, ex officio, report it to the Public Ministry (MP) so that corresponding actions may be initiated, without prejudice to the civil and administrative responsibility that may be imposed on the official. CHAPTER VI PRELIMINARY AND FINAL LIST OF VOTERS

GENERAL LIST OF VOTERS. The National Electoral Council (CNE), based on the information contained in the National Electoral Census, must prepare the purged general list of voters for each electoral process in accordance with what this law and its regulations establish. The General List of Voters must contain an orderly register of citizens with the capacity to exercise the right to vote, by department, municipality, and voting center.

EXHIBITION OF THE PRELIMINARY LIST OF VOTERS. The National Electoral Council (CNE), before publicly announcing the distribution of voters in the voting centers and their location, must make available to political parties and independent candidacies one hundred eighty (180) days before election day, and shall begin the exhibition of the preliminary list of voters on the Council's website and in Municipal Civil Registries. The exhibition of said list must last forty-five (45) calendar days. During this period, the citizen may verify their data on the list and, when appropriate, request claims, incorporations, and exclusions in the offices that the National Electoral Council (CNE) enables for such purpose, or through the corresponding Municipal Civil Registry, in forms previously authorized by the National Electoral Council (CNE). The National Electoral Council (CNE), to make known the distribution of voters by voting center and their location, must make available to political parties and independent candidacies automated consultation systems of the preliminary lists referred to, so that they may present relevant claims regarding said distribution, when appropriate.

RESOLUTION OF CLAIMS. Once the exhibition period of the preliminary list of voters indicated in the preceding Article has concluded, the National Electoral Council (CNE), in coordination with the National Registry of Persons (RNP), in cases that the Council deems appropriate, within the following thirty (30) calendar days, must resolve the claims that have been presented. Once the above period has ended, the National Electoral Council (CNE) must publish within the following five (5) calendar days on its website all resolutions issued regarding the claims. Against said resolutions, only the remedy of reconsideration shall be available, which must be filed before the Council within five (5) calendar days following its publication and shall be resolved by it within five (5) calendar days following its presentation. Once the above-mentioned terms have been exhausted, the purging of the preliminary list of voters shall be deemed completed and the preparation of the final list thereof shall proceed.

DEFINITIVE LIST OF VOTERS. The National Electoral Council (CNE), once the periods established in the previous Article have concluded, must update the information in the National Electoral Census and must prepare the Definitive List of Voters, which must be delivered to political parties, in electronic media, seventy-five (75) days before the primary and general elections, ordered by department, municipality, voting center and number of Vote Receiving Board.

LIST OF VOTERS IN THE VOTING NOTEBOOK IN THE VOTE RECEIVING BOARDS. It is prohibited for the Vote Receiving Boards to prevent the exercise of suffrage to any citizen whose information is recorded in the list that appears in the voting notebook provided by the National Electoral Council (CNE). The voting notebook must contain, at a minimum, the following information:

• 1)

  The name of the department, municipality, voting center and the number of the Vote Receiving Board;

• 2)

  The information of citizens in alphabetical order by surnames and names, their national identification document number and barcode;

• 3)

  Photograph of the citizen;

• 4)

  Box for the signature and to place the fingerprint of the voter and in case of inability to sign, only the fingerprint; and,

• 5)

  Any other information deemed relevant. CHAPTER VII MANDATORY NATURE AND FREE CHARACTER OF INFORMATION, DOCUMENTATION AND FILES

DOCUMENTARY AND DIGITAL COPY OF CARTOGRAPHY. All State institutions are obligated to provide the National Electoral Council (CNE), when requested, immediately and free of charge, documentary and digital copies of the updated cartography in their possession, so that it may have a cartographic database that allows it to update its Electoral Geographic Political Division. The municipalities of the entire Republic, at no cost, must send periodically or upon request of the National Electoral Council (CNE), all cartographic information related to their municipality that includes the inventory of its nomenclature by village, neighborhood, district and hamlet. The National Electoral Council (CNE), for the purposes of updating the Electoral Geographic Political Division, must receive, on a mandatory and free basis from the Public Powers and their departments, autonomous, semi-autonomous, centralized, decentralized, deconcentrated institutions and the municipalities, documentary and digital copies of the cartography in their possession and its updates, as well as all other collaboration that this body requires.

INFORMATION ON PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PHYSICAL FACILITIES. The Powers of the State and their departments, Autonomous Institutions, Semi-autonomous, Centralized, Decentralized and the Municipalities, must inform permanently, mandatorily and free of charge the National Electoral Council (CNE), for the purposes of locating voting centers and operation of voting centers and Vote Receiving Boards; regarding the inventories of physical facilities they possess, detailing the following: department, municipality, city, neighborhood, district, village, hamlet, name or number of the street or avenue, name of the facility, available premises, public services available.

POLITICAL PARTIES. Legally registered political parties are public law institutions whose purposes are to promote citizen participation in democratic life, contribute to the integration of national representation and, as organizations of citizens, make possible their access to the exercise of public power, in accordance with the programs, principles and ideas they advocate, through universal, mandatory, equal, free, secret and direct suffrage. Their existence and free functioning are guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic and this Law.

TYPES OF POLITICAL ELECTORAL ASSOCIATIONS. Political electoral associations are the following:

• 1)

  Political parties;

• 2)

  Alliances of political parties;

• 3)

  Internal movements of political parties; and,

• 4)

  Independent candidacies; Provided that they comply with the requirements established by law, political parties are permanent organizations; in contrast, alliances of political parties, internal movements of political parties and independent candidacies are temporary.

GUARANTEE OF THE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATION IN POLITICAL ACTIVITIES. No authority may prevent, suppress, or obstruct the organization and holding of meetings, events and political activities, permitted by this law or those authorized by the National Electoral Council (CNE), provided that they are carried out in an orderly and peaceful manner.

COMMON RIGHTS OF POLITICAL PARTIES AND PARTY ALLIANCES. The following are common rights of political parties and alliances:

• 1)

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

• 2)

  To participate in the preparation, development and holding of electoral processes, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic, this Law, party bylaws, their regulations and agreements that bind them;

• 3)

  To receive state or private financing, in the cases and conditions established in this Law, the Law of Financing, Transparency and Oversight of Political Parties and Candidates, and related laws;

• 4)

  To nominate candidates for positions of popular election, in accordance with the procedures established in this Law;

• 5)

  To organize the process of election and replacement of party authorities, under the terms and conditions established in this Law, its regulations and the party bylaws;

• 6)

  To propose before the National Electoral Council (CNE), the members who will represent them in the Electoral Bodies in accordance with the Law;

• 7)

  To obtain from the National Electoral Council (CNE), copies of the updated National Electoral Census, the Political Geographic Electoral Division, as well as information on modifications made to both documents and their files;

• 8)

  To conduct promotional activities for the exclusive benefit of their organization; and,

• 9)

  Such other rights as are granted to them by the Constitution of the Republic, this Law and other laws in force in the country.

COMMON DUTIES OF POLITICAL PARTIES. The following are common duties of political parties:

• 1)

  To comply with the Constitution, the laws, their party bylaws and regulations, as well as conduct their activities in accordance with these and the principles of a democratic state;

• 2)

  To respect democratic, representative and participatory principles in the development of their activities, aimed at achieving their political objectives;

• 3)

  To respect the will of majorities and respect the political rights of minorities;

• 4)

  To submit to the republican, democratic, representative and participatory form of government of Honduras, as well as to legitimately constituted authorities;

• 5)

  To present for each electoral process an electoral proposal and their government plans;

• 6)

  To comply with the provisions of Article 17 of the Law of Financing, Transparency and Oversight of Political Parties contained in Decree No. 137-2016 dated November 2, 2016 and published in the Official Journal "La Gaceta" dated January 18, 2017, Edition No. 34,242; and,

• 7)

  Such other duties as established by this Law and its Regulations.

PROHIBITIONS TO POLITICAL PARTIES. Political Parties, Alliances and their Internal Movements and Candidates are prohibited from:

• 1)

  Attacking the republican, democratic, representative and participatory system of government;

• 2)

  Nominating the same citizen for more than one position of popular election;

• 3)

  Depending on or being subordinate to other Political Parties, foreign natural or legal persons, international organizations or entities and ministers of worship of any religion or sect. Excepted is the dependence between political parties that form alliances in accordance with the Law;

• 4)

  Resorting to violence or any unlawful act, intended to alter public order, disturb the enjoyment of others' rights or prevent the regular functioning of state institutions;

• 5)

  Using any expression that denigrates or offends persons, public or private institutions, as well as other political organizations, their internal movements and candidates; therefore, they are prohibited from disseminating, through any medium, messages that harm the image, good name, honor and personal and family privacy and in sum the dignity of any person;

• 6)

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

• 7)

  Conducting electoral propaganda in periods prohibited by this Law and its regulations;

• 8)

  Involving children and adolescents in electoral propaganda and in other forms that violate the laws and international treaties on the rights of children, except when it comes to projecting the family image of the candidates;

• 9)

  Receiving contributions of any kind and/or subsidies that subordinate their actions to directives of national or foreign persons and entities, public or private, that attack against their own party and the sovereignty and economic, political and cultural independence of the State;

• 10)

  Registering as candidates for any position of popular election for general elections persons who have participated in another party or in the same electoral period; and,

• 11)

  Such other prohibitions as established by this law, party bylaws and their Regulations. Violators of the provisions of this Article shall be sanctioned with a fine of five (5) to twenty (20) minimum wages, without prejudice to nullities, prohibitions and the criminal liability that applies.

DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF POLITICAL PARTIES. Political parties must have and be distinguished by their own and exclusive names, emblems, mottos or insignias and shall have the right to the exclusive use of their distinctive symbols, once approved and registered with the National Electoral Council (CNE). These distinctive features cannot be identical or similar to those of other political parties, national symbols, allegories representative of the nation, names and figures of national heroes and patriots, leaders or religious emblems of any nature, nor may they contravene the legal equality of Hondurans and in general morality and good customs. CHAPTER II POLITICAL PARTIES

LEGAL PERSONALITY AND CAPACITY OF POLITICAL PARTIES. Without prejudice to existing political parties, a political party acquires its legal personality at the moment of its registration in the registry that the National Electoral Council (CNE) must maintain for such purpose. From that date forward, it enjoys the rights and is subject to the duties and prohibitions established in the Constitution of the Republic, the laws, regulations and its own internal legislation; it has patrimony and its own domicile and legal capacity to perform the acts conducive to the achievement of its purposes, without further limitations than those established in said legal bodies.

NORMATIVE INSTRUMENTS OF POLITICAL PARTIES. Citizens who seek the approval of a political party for its organization and internal functioning must present a declaration of principles, bylaws, action program and its policy of equity and gender equality for the participation of its membership.

DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES. The Declaration of Principles of political parties must contain at minimum:

• 1)

  The obligation to comply with the Constitution and the laws;

• 2)

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

• 3)

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

• 4)

  The recognition of gender equality, non-discrimination and equal opportunities.

BYLAWS. Political parties are 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 must mandatorily contain the following:

• 1)

  The name of the political party itself, the emblem, color or colors that characterize and differentiate it;

• 2)

  The procedures for affiliation of its members;

• 3)

  The rights and obligations of its members;

• 4)

  Political, administrative and technical bodies, with detail of their functions and obligations;

• 5)

  The establishment of a financial body with detail of its functions and obligations and the regulations pertaining to transparency and accountability;

• 6)

  Establish a body for the resolution of internal conflicts and the procedural norms for such purpose;

• 7)

  The democratic procedures for designation, integration and renewal of directive, administrative and technical bodies through direct internal elections, second-degree elections or appointment;

• 8)

  The procedures for statutory reform;

• 9)

  The norms for the democratic nomination of its candidates in the event there is no internal contest for the primary elections ordered in this Law;

• 10)

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

• 11)

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

• 12)

  The sanctions applicable to members who violate its internal provisions and the means and procedures of defense;

• 13)

  Norms relating to the expression of will of its affiliates in the adoption of ideology and in the formation of mergers or alliances with another or other political parties; and,

• 14)

  In the bylaws that also contain norms relating to effective participation in equity and gender equality.

POLITICAL ACTION PROGRAM. The political action program must determine the measures to:

• 1)

  Practice 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 affiliates.

POLICY ON EQUITY AND GENDER EQUALITY. The policy on equity and gender equality must contain at a minimum the measures to: 1) Guarantee compliance with the principle of equity and gender equality in the integration of its internal bodies, in the nomination of candidates for elective office, as well as in the proposals to integrate organizations of any kind; and, 2) Promote equitable training and education of women, men, youth, seniors, persons with disabilities, ethnic groups and Afro-Hondurans.

PARTY BODIES. Each political party must have at a minimum:

• 1)

  A deliberative and regulatory body of a national character;

• 2)

  A national executive body;

• 3)

  Departmental bodies;

• 4)

  Municipal bodies;

• 5)

  A body responsible for the administration of its assets and financed resources and for accountability;

• 6)

  A body responsible for political and ideological training and education;

• 7)

  A disciplinary body and for the resolution of internal controversies; and,

• 8)

  Base bodies whether these are peasant groups, cooperative groups, youth and women.

PROCEDURE FOR THE CONSTITUTION OF A POLITICAL PARTY. Citizens, in the full exercise of their political rights and in a number not less than fifty (50), have the right to associate to constitute a Political Party. To do so, they must appear personally before a notary manifesting such purpose and requiring that the notary place it on record in a notarial deed, which must contain: the names, surnames and number of the national identification document of the petitioners; the name they propose to identify the political party they are constituting, the designation of the representative who will represent the political party in the registration process, as well as the express declaration of the parties appearing to comply with what is provided in the Constitution of the Republic, this Law and its regulations.

PRIOR REQUIREMENTS TO THE REGISTRATION REQUEST. Prior to forming the lists of citizens that support the registration requests of new political parties, the National Electoral Council (CNE) must prepare the official format that contains the spaces to record the department, municipality, names and surnames of the citizens, their national identification document number (DNI), and the fingerprint. Said format must be delivered by the National Electoral Council (CNE) to the respective representative of the political party requesting registration, so that they may proceed to gather the information of the citizens who will support its registration.

The application for registration of a political party may be submitted to the National Electoral Council (CNE) at any time; however, said Council cannot authorize the registration of new political parties after the call for primary elections has been made and until after the declaration of general elections.

Citizens seeking approval of a political party, to obtain its registration must present before the National Electoral Council (CNE), through representatives, the respective application accompanied by the following documents:

• 1)

  Certified copy of the Notarial Act of its constitution;

• 2)

  Declaration of principles;

• 3)

  Bylaws;

• 4)

  Description and drawing of the party emblem and indication of the name under which it will operate;

• 5)

  Program of political action;

• 6)

  Policy of equity and gender equality;

• 7)

  Organization of its authorities in more than half of the total number of Municipalities and Departments of the country;

• 8)

  Minutes of the session of the integration of its central authority; and, 9) List of citizens who support the application, equivalent to two percent (2%) of the total valid votes cast in the last general election at the presidential elective level of the one who won the last elections.

Upon receipt of the application for registration of a political party in accordance with this Law, the National Electoral Council (CNE) must request from the National Registry of Persons (RNP) the validation of the fingerprints of an index finger of said citizens in the national identification database, or through a random sampling mechanism calculated in a representative manner, as determined in the corresponding regulation; likewise, it must inform the Council, within a period not exceeding ten (10) business days from receipt of the documents that contain them. Simultaneously with the procedure described above, the National Electoral Council (CNE) must conduct the examination to determine whether the documents attached to the application comply with the legal requirements. If the examination of the documents determines that the legally established requirements are not met, the National Electoral Council (CNE) shall notify the representative of the petitioners so that they may proceed to correct them within a period not exceeding ten (10) business days, warning that otherwise the filing of the proceedings shall be ordered ex officio. Once the requirements for registration are met, the National Electoral Council (CNE) must issue the corresponding resolution and order it to be published in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta" and in two (2) simultaneous notices in two (2) mass media publications and register the respective political party.

Against the resolution denying the registration of a political party, the remedy of reconsideration shall be available before the National Electoral Council (CNE), which must be filed within three (3) business days following its publication in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta" and the National Electoral Council (CNE) must resolve within the following five (5) days. As an alternative, the appeal may be filed before the Electoral Justice Court (TJE).

Citizens who consider themselves affected by the resolution denying registration of a political party may take action by challenging it before the Electoral Justice Court (TJE).

REFORMS TO PARTY LEGAL INSTRUMENTS. Every political party that agrees to reforms to its legal instruments, which it must necessarily have, must request approval from the National Electoral Council (CNE) within twenty (20) days following the date on which the agreement is made, accompanied by the corresponding certification. The Council must issue a resolution declaring whether or not it is appropriate in accordance with the Law, within a period not exceeding thirty (30) calendar days counted from the day following the submission of said request, which must be registered and published in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta".

REMEDIES AGAINST RESOLUTION ON REFORMS. In case of disapproval, the affected political party may file against this resolution the remedy of reconsideration before the National Electoral Council (CNE) within three (3) days following the publication referred to in the preceding paragraph. Against the resolution of the reconsideration remedy, the remedy of appeal must be filed, which must be filed within three (3) business days following the notification of said resolution before the Electoral Justice Court (TJE). CHAPTER III MERGER OF POLITICAL PARTIES

CASES OF MERGER OF POLITICAL PARTIES. Political parties may merge for the purpose of constituting a single political party, following the procedures for internal consultations established in their respective Bylaws. The merger may be full or by absorption. In both cases, its effects are irreversible, as of the approval and registration of the respective agreement in the National Electoral Council (CNE).

FULL MERGER. Full merger has as its object the creation of a new political party. For its registration, the new political party must comply with the requirements established in this Law. The parties that carry out the merger must notify the Unit for Financing, Transparency and Oversight of Political Parties and Candidates for the consequent effects of the Law.

REQUIREMENTS FOR FULL MERGER. The full merger of two (2) or more political parties must be approved by the National Electoral Council (CNE). The request for approval of the full merger must be accompanied by certifications of the affirmative agreements of both political parties, according to the procedure established in their bylaws. Once the above requirements are met, the request for full merger must be approved, the cancellation of the merged political parties must be ordered and simultaneously, the registration of the new Party must be ordered. Once registered, the assets and liabilities of the merged parties shall be transferred by operation of law to the new political party.

MERGER BY ABSORPTION. Merger by absorption is that in which one or more registered political parties merge in favor of another, without thereby giving rise to a new political party, in which case the absorbing political party subsists and the absorbed ones disappear.

REQUIREMENTS FOR MERGER BY ABSORPTION. When it is a matter of a request for registration of a merger agreement by absorption, once the defects have been remedied, if any, the National Electoral Council (CNE) must order publication in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta", the agreement for the purpose that within thirty (30) calendar days oppositions are presented. Once this term has elapsed, the Council shall resolve what is appropriate. In case the registration request is resolved favorably, the cancellation of the registration of the absorbed Parties must be ordered and only the registration in favor of the absorbing party shall be retained.

CONSIDERATION OF AFFILIATES IN CASES OF MERGER. Citizens who, as of the date of registration of the agreement, are members of the merged or absorbed parties shall be considered affiliated with the absorbing political party, preserving the rights that derive from that status.

DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION OF MERGERS OF POLITICAL PARTIES. Mergers of political parties must request their registration with the National Electoral Council (CNE), at least sixty (60) days before the call for general elections, with the electoral body issuing its resolution no later than thirty (30) days before said call so that it takes effect as of its registration and publication in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta". The National Electoral Council (CNE) must supervise compliance with the commitments related to the electoral participation of the merger. Against the resolutions issued, the interested parties may make use of the remedies of reconsideration and appeal provided for in the Law. CHAPTER IV ALLIANCES BETWEEN POLITICAL PARTIES

ALLIANCES BETWEEN POLITICAL PARTIES. Political parties may form total or partial alliances to nominate common candidates for general elections, preserving their legal personality and party identity. Alliances must be agreed in accordance with the procedures established in the bylaws of each party and request their registration with the National Electoral Council (CNE).

DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION. Alliances must request their registration with the National Electoral Council (CNE), before the call for general elections. Alliances take effect as of their registration and publication in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta"; they dissolve upon the issuance of the general election declaration. The National Electoral Council (CNE) must supervise compliance with the commitments related to the electoral participation of the alliance.

TOTAL ALLIANCE OF POLITICAL PARTIES. A total alliance is one in which two (2) or more political parties nominate the same candidates at the four (4) elective levels under the same government program. The political parties that make up the total alliance are considered and act as one in general elections, having to define the name and emblem they will use.

REQUEST FOR APPROVAL AND REGISTRATION OF A TOTAL ALLIANCE. The total alliance of two (2) or more political parties must be approved by the National Electoral Council (CNE). The request for approval and registration of the total alliance must be accompanied by the document in which the conditions thereof were agreed, as well as the certifications of the total alliance agreements, adopted by the respective conventions or assemblies of the political parties whose alliance is intended, complying with the procedure established in their respective bylaws. Furthermore, the request for registration must be accompanied by the formulas or lists of candidates nominated, which must comply with all the requirements established for the registration of candidates of political parties that did not participate in primary elections. In the event that the request is resolved favorably, the registration must be ordered. In cases that according to the Law correspond, the total alliance must accredit a common representative before the Vote Receiving Boards and before the Consultative Council.

PARTIAL ALLIANCE. A partial alliance is one in which two (2) or more political parties nominate the same formula or lists of candidates in some or any of the elective levels or in some department or municipality, to participate in a general election.

REQUEST FOR APPROVAL AND REGISTRATION OF A PARTIAL ALLIANCE. The partial alliance of two (2) or more political parties must be approved by the National Electoral Council (CNE), complying with what is ordered in the following articles of this Law and specifying the conditions of the Alliance. Furthermore, the request for registration must be accompanied by the formula or lists of candidates to be nominated, which must comply with all the requirements established for the registration of candidates of political parties that did not participate in primary elections. The rest of the formulas or lists that are not part of the partial alliance must be presented by each political party within the deadline that corresponds to political parties that did not hold primary elections. In the event that the request is resolved favorably, the registration of the electoral alliance agreement must be ordered. If the partial alliance is approved, it must accredit a single representative in the Vote Receiving Boards of the department or municipality where it nominates the same formulas or lists of candidates at the four (4) elective levels. CHAPTER V CONDITIONS FOR REGISTRATION OF POLITICAL PARTIES AND ALLIANCES.

CONDITIONS OF ALLIANCES. The conditions of total or partial alliances between political parties must be agreed upon in writing, indicating the type of alliance, the name under which the alliance will operate, its emblem, ideology, political action plan and government program at the presidential or municipal level, as appropriate, deputies to the National Congress, deputies to PARLACEN, which must be respected by the parties that are part of the alliance; and when applicable, their commitment to respect the principles of national integration, the form of distribution of candidates for elective positions respecting in their nomination gender parity and alternation, the form of distribution of State financing, determining the percentage corresponding to each political party, as well as the other obligations established in the Law on Financing, Transparency and Oversight of Political Parties and Candidates.

ECONOMIC AGREEMENTS IN ALLIANCES. Political parties must include in the Alliance agreement, without prejudice to those expressly stated in this Law, among others, the following:

• 1)

  Establish the method to calculate votes and define the percentage corresponding to each of the parties that form the total alliance or partial alliance at the presidential formula level, so that the National Electoral Council (CNE) determines the percentage of State financing or political debt corresponding to each of the parties; this percentage shall serve as the basis for the integration of positions in the electoral bodies of the following election;

• 2)

  Establish the percentage in which they will incur monetary obligations derived from the electoral process, with each political party of the Alliance assuming such obligations in its own name and being responsible for their payment, as well as those derived from sanctions imposed by the National Electoral Council (CNE), contemplated in the laws; and,

• 3)

  The others that are established in the Special law that regulates the assets, public and private financing and oversight of Political Parties and Candidates.

CANCELLATION OF THE REGISTRATION OF POLITICAL PARTIES. The National Electoral Council (CNE) through a resolution shall cancel the registration of one or more political parties, in the following cases:

• 1)

  By full merger;

• 2)

  By merger through absorption;

• 3)

  By request of the same Party in accordance with what is stipulated in its bylaws;

• 4)

  For obtaining its registration fraudulently or having incurred the prohibitions established in this law or in non-compliance with its duties and thus has been proven;

• 5)

  For not having obtained at least one deputy to the National Congress or a mayor at the municipal level in the general elections; and, 6. For not having participated in the general election, except for those that were part of an alliance.

REMEDIES AGAINST CANCELLATION OF REGISTRATION. Against the resolution of cancellation of the registration of a political party, the remedies of reconsideration before the National Electoral Council (CNE) and the means of challenge established by the Constitution and the Law shall apply. Once the cancellation is final, proceedings for its liquidation must be carried out; retaining the capacity for management only for this purpose. If the liquidation of a political party results in a surplus in its assets, this must be transferred to the State.

INDEPENDENT CANDIDACIES. Independent candidacies are a form of temporary political participation through which citizens present themselves for elective offices, unaffiliated from legally registered political parties. Independent candidacies may be presented for President and Designates to the Presidency of the Republic; for any departmental slate of Proprietor Deputies with their respective Alternates to the National Congress; and for the Municipal Corporation formula.

CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION. For the Presidential formula it is essential to register the candidacy for President of the Republic and for the positions of Designates to the Presidency of the Republic; for the formula of Deputies to the National Congress, the registration of the complete number of candidates for principals and their respective alternates is necessary. In the case of registration of the formula to the Municipal Corporation, it must be complete. In all cases of ballots both presidential and municipal corporation and deputies, the principle of parity and alternation must be respected.

REGISTRATION OF INDEPENDENT CANDIDACIES. For the purpose of registering independent candidacies, the candidate who heads the respective ballot or formula, and who meets the requirements set forth by the Law, must request from the National Electoral Council (CNE), through an attorney appointed in a public deed, his registration within ten (10) calendar days following the call for General Elections.

PRIOR REQUIREMENTS TO THE REGISTRATION REQUEST. Prior to forming the list of citizens who support the registration request before the National Electoral Council (CNE), the attorney of the independent candidacy must request from this body that it provide him with the official formats for such purpose; as well as the certification of the number of citizens required to complete two percent (2%), equivalent to the valid votes obtained in the last general election at the presidential level, at the national, departmental or municipal level, in the respective jurisdiction for which the independent candidacy is intended to be filed. Said list must be prepared by municipality with the names and surnames of the citizens, national identification document number, fingerprint of the index fingers and signature when possible.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE REGISTRATION OF AN INDEPENDENT CANDIDACY. To obtain the registration of an Independent Candidacy, it must be requested from the National Electoral Council (CNE) accompanied by the following documents:

• 1)

  Lists of citizens that support the candidacy, in an amount equivalent to two percent (2%) of the total valid votes of the last national, departmental or municipal general election, according to the position for which they are applying;

• 2)

  Formula for which each of the candidates is running;

• 3)

  Proof of residence for those who were not born in the department or municipality for which they are running;

• 4)

  Declaration of principles;

• 5)

  Electoral platform;

• 6)

  Express commitment to respect the constitutional order and electoral regulations;

• 7)

  Description and drawing of the emblem of the Independent Candidacy and indication of the name under which it will operate. The emblems or distinctive marks must not be confused with those of registered political parties or other registered Independent Candidacies;

• 8)

  Gender equity policy; and,

• 9)

  Certificate from the National Electoral Council (CNE) of not having participated as a candidate in the immediate prior electoral primary process, the certificate must be delivered on the same day as the request.

ANALYSIS, REVIEW OF REQUIREMENTS AND RESOLUTION. Upon receipt of the registration request for an Independent Candidacy, the National Electoral Council (CNE) must corroborate in the National Electoral Census the existence and validity of the political rights of the citizens who are applying and examine whether the documents attached to the request comply with the legal requirements. The National Electoral Council (CNE) must send to the National Registry of Persons (RNP) the list of citizens that support the registration of the independent candidacy presented by the applicant in the special format designed for such purpose, for its respective verification. The National Registry of Persons (RNP) must verify the fingerprints recorded in said list and validate in that institution's database, through a random sampling mechanism calculated in a representative manner, as determined in the corresponding Regulation; and must inform the National Electoral Council (CNE) within a period of no more than ten (10) business days of the result. If from the comparison and examination of the documents it is determined that the legally established requirements are not met, the National Electoral Council (CNE) must notify the respective attorney so that within a period of no more than five (5) calendar days, the same may be remedied with the warning that failure to do so will result in the filing of the proceedings being ordered. Once the formal requirements for registration are met, the National Electoral Council (CNE) must issue the corresponding resolution and order its publication in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta".

REMEDIES AGAINST FINAL RESOLUTIONS IN MATTERS OF INDEPENDENT CANDIDACY REGISTRATION. Against the resolutions issued by the National Electoral Council (CNE), a motion for reconsideration may be filed. Against the resolution of the motion for reconsideration, an appeal must be filed, which must be filed within three (3) business days following notification of said resolution before the Electoral Justice Court.

OTHER APPLICABLE PROVISIONS FOR INDEPENDENT CANDIDACIES. Independent Candidacies shall be subject to the provisions relating to the prohibition of accepting unauthorized funds, registration and notification of contributions, deposit of funds, private contributions for electoral campaigns, accounting systems, financial statements, rendering of accounts, and rights to advertising space in state media in accordance with the Law on Financing, Oversight, and Transparency of Political Parties and Candidates.

VACANCIES IN INDEPENDENT CANDIDACIES. If the vacancy occurs in the Presidential candidate of the independent formula, he must be replaced by one of the Presidential Designates. The same procedure must be followed if a vacancy occurs in an Independent Candidacy at other collegiate elective levels, as follows: in the case of Deputies to the National Congress, he must be replaced by his respective alternate, and in municipal corporations, by the candidate for Vice-Mayor. CHAPTER VIII PATRIMONY AND FINANCING OF POLITICAL PARTIES

PATRIMONY OF POLITICAL PARTIES. The patrimony of Political Parties consists of:

• 1)

  Public financing granted by the State;

• 2)

  Private financing;

• 3)

  Donations, inheritances, and bequests in their favor;

• 4)

  Income from their investments;

• 5)

  Funds obtained from popular collections; and,

• 6)

  Any other lawful income.

METHOD OF CALCULATING PUBLIC FINANCING. The contribution granted by the State to Political Parties for their participation in each general electoral process must be made in accordance with the quantity of valid votes obtained by each of them at the presidential elective level of the last general election in which they participated.

PAYMENT OF PUBLIC FINANCING OR POLITICAL DEBT. The payment of public financing for each electoral campaign must be made to the official accounts of the Political Parties in accordance with the following rules: 1) Initial simultaneous disbursement in the name of each Political Party in installments equivalent to sixty percent (60%) of the total amount corresponding to it, no later than fifteen (15) days after the call for general elections; and, 2) Remaining disbursement equivalent to forty percent (40%), which must be delivered in the first quarter of the year following the general elections.

PUBLIC FINANCING OR POLITICAL DEBT APPLICABLE TO INDEPENDENT CANDIDACIES CAMPAIGNS. Independent Candidacies have the right to public financing for electoral campaigns in the event of winning the office for which they ran. The payment of said financing must be paid by the State Department in the Ministry of Finance (SEFIN), through the National Electoral Council (CNE).

FINANCING FOR THE PROMOTION OF WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP. Political Parties have the right to receive public financing for the promotion of women's leadership. The amount of this financing must be equivalent to fifteen percent (15%) of the Political Debt that each Political Party with representation in the National Congress obtained in the last general elections.

ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE ELECTORAL PERIOD. Political Parties, Alliances and Independent Candidacies that received resources from the State during the electoral period, once received, are subject to the applicable rules contained in the Law on Financing, Transparency and Oversight of Political Parties and Candidates.

TAX EXEMPTIONS. Political Parties are authorized to import into the country every four (4) years, free of all kinds of 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 the taxes to be paid does not exceed Two Million Lempiras (L.2,000,000.00). The period of four (4) years must be counted from the date of the declaration of the general elections. Real property owned by Political Parties, and the free exercise of activities inherent to Political Parties, are exempt from the payment of taxes and municipal fees.

IMPROPER USE OF STATE RESOURCES. The use of State resources outside of the financing that the State itself provides and programs duly approved by the National Electoral Council (CNE) is prohibited. Everything related to the application of this Article and its effects shall be regulated in accordance with what is established in the Law on Financing, Transparency and Oversight of Political Parties and Candidates. TITLE VI ELECTORAL PROCESSES INTERNAL, PRIMARY AND GENERAL ELECTIONS CHAPTER I INTERNAL ELECTIONS

INTERNAL ELECTIONS. Legally registered political parties must, under the supervision of the National Electoral Council (CNE), hold internal electoral processes to elect their authorities. These elections shall be conducted in accordance with what is established in the Bylaws of each party and the provisions of this Law. When there exist two (2) or more legally registered movements to participate in the internal elections of a political party, its authorities must be elected, in the cases determined in its Bylaws, by direct vote of its members and supporters. In the event that no movement exists or only one exists, the political party must resolve the election of its authorities in accordance with what is established in its Bylaws, under the supervision of the National Electoral Council (CNE), and notifying it how said authorities have been integrated for their respective registration, which must be published in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta". When internal elections are held simultaneously with primary elections, voters must be provided with the respective ballot for the exercise of suffrage and the respective ballot box must be installed to deposit them. In the internal elections of political parties, the principle of proportional representation must be applied for positions that achieve the highest municipal or departmental quotient of votes in descending order on the ballots presented by the participating internal movements, as applicable. At the national level, national party authorities shall be chosen by simple majority when the slate of delegates or assembly members is single-person and in the case of multi-person slates, by proportional representation using the mechanism previously cited.

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS. Six (6) months before the date of the internal elections, the Central Authorities of the Political Parties must make a call to their members to register the internal movements through which they will participate in the process.

REQUIREMENTS OF INTERNAL MOVEMENTS AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL. Citizens who are members of political parties who wish to participate in a party election process must present within the timeframes indicated in the previous Article, before the central authority of the respective political party, a request containing: 1) Name, insignia or emblem of the internal movement they intend to register; and, 2) Lists of the citizens proposed as candidates for positions of authority at the national, departmental and municipal levels, as well as delegates or representatives, in at least fourteen (14) departments and two hundred (200) municipalities of the republic indicating names and surnames, national identification document number (DNI), recent photograph when applicable and the position for which they are running; and must meet the eligibility conditions determined by their Bylaws. Gender parity and alternation in the political participation of women and men must be strictly applied in the lists and if they do not comply with these requirements, they shall not be registered. Parity and alternation must also be mandatory in second-degree elections and if not complied with, they shall not be recognized as authorities.

APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION OF INTERNAL MOVEMENTS. The presentation of lists of citizens proposed as candidates for internal authorities of political parties must be made in writing before the central authority of the political party in original and copy, no later than four (4) months before the internal elections. The lists, in original and copy, must be sealed by the central authority, and the copy must be returned to the internal movement. The central authority of the political party, within twenty (20) calendar days, counted from the day following the date of its presentation, must resolve whether or not the application for registration of the requesting movements proceeds, and must issue the corresponding resolution, with a copy for each of them. The National Electoral Council (CNE), to guarantee that the examination of the requirements complies with legality and statutory norms, must appoint Electoral Supervisors in accordance with this Law.

NOTIFICATION OF REQUEST FOR REGISTRATION OF MOVEMENTS. Once the deadline for submission of the registration request has expired, the central authority of the political party must notify the National Electoral Council (CNE) the following day of how many movements requested their registration, indicating in its case the names of the Movements that submitted a request, and said Council must publish the notification on its website. If within five (5) calendar days following the notification no challenge has been filed against it, the National Electoral Council (CNE) must immediately communicate this to the central authority of the Political Party. In case of challenge, it must be processed in a conciliation hearing between the challenger and the central authority of the respective political party and the appropriate action shall be resolved. In case of no agreement, the interested parties shall proceed in accordance with what is established in the Electoral Procedural Law.

NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION. The National Electoral Commission is the party body responsible for the organization, management, direction and control of internal elections. The central authority of political parties, within the twenty (20) days it has to resolve the registration of internal movements and when issuing said resolution, must establish the National Electoral Commission (CNE), with equal representation of all registered movements. If the National Electoral Commission is constituted by an even number, the central authority of the political party must appoint a representative, and this must be endorsed by the other registered internal movements. The National Electoral Commission, in order to guarantee compliance with the procedures established in its Bylaws, must implement the recommendations that the National Electoral Council (CNE) opportunely formulates to it.

DEPARTMENTAL AND MUNICIPAL COMMISSIONS. The National Electoral Commission of the respective party must organize a Departmental Electoral Commission in each Department of the State and a Municipal Electoral Commission in each Municipality where elections are held, with equal representation of the Internal Movements legally registered. If the commissions are constituted by an even number, one more member must be appointed, chosen alternatively from the proposals of the same registered movements. The powers of these Commissions must be specified in the Regulations issued for this purpose.

SYSTEM OF ACTIONS AND REMEDIES. Against the registration of an internal movement, a motion for reconsideration is available before the central authority of the respective Political Party, which must be presented within three (3) days following notification of the non-registration or registration against the resolution that resolves the motion for reconsideration, an appeal is available before the Electoral Justice Court (TJE), which must be filed within three (3) days following notification. Once internal elections have been held, Internal Movements and Candidates have the right to challenge wholly or partially the results of the process and electoral results before the National Electoral Commission, within the non-extendable period of ten (10) business days counted from the day following the elections, and it must resolve the pertinent matters within the following ten (10) business days. Against the resolutions adopted by the National Electoral Commission of the respective party, a motion for reconsideration before the same Commission and subsidiarily an appeal before the Electoral Justice Court (TJE) shall be available.

DECLARATION OF INTERNAL ELECTIONS. Once internal elections have been held, the National Electoral Council (CNE), within a period not to exceed thirty (30) days after their holding, must declare elected the citizens that correspond and register them immediately before the central authority of the political party. Once the declaration is registered before the central authority, the political party must make the publication in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta", immediately so that said authorities are registered in the Registry that the National Electoral Council (CNE) must keep for this purpose and are considered as such from the date of their taking office.

Internal elections of the Political Parties are held on the date determined by their bylaws or simultaneously with the primary elections. The same obligation must always be observed when the election of internal authorities is by direct and secret vote. In the event that these are held on a different date than the primary election, they must be financed exclusively by each political party. In the event that internal elections are held simultaneously with primary elections, the documentation and electoral material needed during the process in the Vote Receiving Board will be financed by the National Electoral Council (CNE). CHAPTER II PRIMARY ELECTIONS

Whenever there is more than one internal movement in contention, political parties are obligated to conduct primary elections for the selection of their candidates for elective office through direct and secret vote of their members.

Primary elections shall be conducted under the direction, control and supervision of the National Electoral Council with the support of the National Electoral Commission of the respective Political Party. The National Electoral Council (CNE) shall provide financing and technical assistance to political parties for the conduct of said elections.

The National Electoral Council (CNE) must deliver to the Political Parties the lists of elective offices to be elected, at the national, departmental and municipal levels, eight (8) months before the holding of primary elections, so that they make it known to the internal movements. The elective offices are:

• 1)

  President and Designates to the Presidency of the Republic and deputies to the Central American Parliament;

• 2)

  Deputies to the National Congress; and,

• 3)

  Members of the Municipal Corporations.

In the event that only one movement has requested its registration and meets the requirements of Law, the political party must convene assemblies to elect its candidates, which must be supervised by the National Electoral Council (CNE). Said assemblies must be held on the date set for the holding of primary elections of the political parties.

DESERT PROCESS. Once the deadline for registering movements to participate in primary elections has expired, if no movement has been registered, the National Electoral Council (CNE) shall authorize the political party or parties in question to conduct said processes under the supervision of the National Electoral Council (CNE), with candidates being elected through second-degree elections that must be held by the National, Departmental or Municipal Conventions, Plenums or Assemblies of the same according to the elective level in question, in accordance with what is established in their bylaws.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE REGISTRATION OF INTERNAL MOVEMENTS FOR PRIMARY ELECTIONS. Internal movements have the right to participate in primary elections at the national level by registering their candidates for the formula of President and Presidential Designates of the Republic, list of candidates for Deputies to the Central American Parliament, lists of candidates for Deputies to the National Congress and members of Municipal Corporations, in at least fourteen (14) of the Departments and (200) two hundred Municipalities of the Country, respectively, as well as the list of citizens who support their registration in an amount not less than two percent (2%) of the votes obtained by their political party in the last general election, at the presidential elective level. These lists must be delivered in both printed and electronic form in accordance with the formats provided by the National Electoral Council (CNE); among others, they must include the name and surname, address, signature and fingerprint of each of the citizens that compose it.

REQUIREMENTS TO BE CANDIDATES FOR POSITIONS OF POPULAR ELECTION IN PRIMARY ELECTIONS. To be candidates for positions of popular election in primary elections, the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic and the Law of Municipalities and Political Regime must be observed, in the Constitutive Treaty of the Central American Parliament and the provisions of this Law; both regarding conditions of eligibility and the ineligibilities regulated by said legal bodies. To be President or Presidential Designate of the Republic the following is required: 1) To be Honduran by birth; 2) To be over thirty (30) years old; 3) To be in the enjoyment of one's citizen rights; and, 4) To be of secular status. To be elected Deputy to the National Congress and to the Central American Parliament, the following is required:

• 1)

  To be Honduran by birth;

• 2)

  To have reached twenty-one (21) years of age;

• 3)

  To be in the exercise of one's citizen rights;

• 4)

  To be of secular status; and, 5) To have been born in the Department from which one is running or to have resided in it for at least the last five (5) years prior to the date of the call for elections. To be a member of a Municipal Corporation the following is required:

  • 1)

    To be Honduran born in the municipality for which one is running or to be residing consecutively in it for more than five (5) years;

  • 2)

    To have reached eighteen (18) years of age;

  • 3)

    To be in full exercise of one's civil and political rights; and,

  • 4)

    To be of secular status. It is established that those meeting the age requirement are citizens nominated in the presidential formula and deputies to the National Congress and Central American Parliament who will reach the legal age before or on the day of the general elections. In the case of candidates for Mayor and Council Members, they meet the legal age provided that on the day of the primary elections they have already reached eighteen (18) years of age. Likewise, those who meet the requirements if at the time of their application for registration as candidates, there is no binding formal processing order against them for a crime that warrants imprisonment for a period greater than five (5) years; all of which is without prejudice to their subsequent disqualification for subsequent legal causes.

APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION OF MOVEMENTS AND THEIR CANDIDATES The application for registration of a movement and its candidates must be directed to the National Electoral Council (CNE) through the central authority of the political party. Said application must be submitted in original and copy, in both printed and electronic form, no later than four months (4) before the primary elections are held. Once the application is received by the central authority of the political party, it must stamp it and return the printed copy to the movement, and must send the original to the National Electoral Council (CNE) with the supporting documents within ten (10) calendar days following the date of its presentation, with a report that must indicate whether its candidates meet the requirements established in its Bylaws. A copy of the application and the lists of candidates must be delivered by the interested parties to the National Electoral Council (CNE), no later than the day following its presentation to the same.

RECEIPT OF APPLICATION AND RESOLUTION OF REGISTRATION. The National Electoral Council (CNE) must receive, stamp and return a copy of the application for registration to the central authority of each political party so that it, in turn, delivers it to the respective internal movement. The Council has fifteen (15) days counted from the day following the presentation of the application for registration to notify about the errors or inconsistencies found in the proposed lists and must grant the interested parties a peremptory period of five (5) days for their correction, with the warning that if they do not do so the proceedings will be filed and this failure will result in the registration process of the movement in the lists with errors or inconsistencies being deemed abandoned. Once this period has elapsed, the Council has five (5) days to issue its final resolution.

NOTIFICATION OF APPLICATIONS AND CHALLENGES. The day after the deadline specified in the first paragraph of the previous Article expires, the central authority of the political party must notify the National Electoral Council (CNE) how many movements requested their registration. The day after receiving the notification, the National Electoral Council (CNE) must make it public through its website and if within five (5) calendar days following said publication there is no challenge to the notification, it shall consider it valid. In case of opposition, it must be processed summarily with a hearing of the interested party to whom the decision will be communicated, as well as to the central authority of the political party.

REPORT OF NOT HAVING RECEIVED APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION OF MOVEMENTS. If the central authority of political parties reports to the National Electoral Council (CNE) that it has not received applications for registration of movements, or that those presented did not meet the legal requirements; after verifying such circumstance, the National Electoral Council (CNE) must order the respective Political Party to choose its candidates in accordance with the procedures established in its Bylaws under the supervision of the National Electoral Council (CNE), and register them within the deadlines specified in this Law.

DIRECT APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION WITH THE NATIONAL ELECTORAL COUNCIL. If the central authority, after the deadline specified in this Law has expired, has not sent the application, documents and reports of any movement to the National Electoral Council (CNE), the internal movement within three (3) calendar days following may request its registration directly from said Council, presenting the sealed copy of the documentation and the lists of candidates for positions of popular election presented before the central authority of the political party. The National Electoral Council (CNE) shall require the central authority of the political party to immediately send the original documentation and shall resolve what is appropriate within five (5) calendar days following the date of presentation of the application.

ANALYSIS AND REVIEW OF ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS AND REMEDIES. Upon receipt of the application for registration of a political movement and its candidates, the National Electoral Council (CNE) must verify the lists of candidates in the National Electoral Census and other pertinent registries, as well as the list of citizens who support the application for registration of the respective movement. Simultaneously with the procedure described above, the National Electoral Council (CNE) must evaluate whether the lists of nominated candidates comply with the legal requirements and resolve on their admission within twenty (20) days following receipt of the application. Once the application for registration is admitted, the National Electoral Council (CNE) shall recognize the internal movement and its lists of candidates, issuing the corresponding resolution. If the admission is denied, the same may be appealed through the remedy of reconsideration. Against the resolution of the remedy of reconsideration, the remedy of appeal must be filed, which must be filed within three (3) business days following notification of said resolution before the Electoral Justice Court.

ALLIANCE BETWEEN INTERNAL MOVEMENTS. Internal political movements may form total alliances or partial alliances in their primary and internal electoral process, once they have been legally registered.

TOTAL ALLIANCE AND PARTIAL ALLIANCE BETWEEN INTERNAL MOVEMENTS. A total alliance is one in which registered internal political movements nominate the same candidates at all elective levels and under the same government program, in which case they will accredit a single representative before the electoral bodies. A partial alliance is one in which common candidates are nominated only at one or some of the elective levels in any department or municipality. In this case, the internal political movements will retain the right to accredit representatives before the electoral bodies in the places where common candidacies are not presented.

CONDITIONS OF ALLIANCE BETWEEN INTERNAL MOVEMENTS. In order to ensure the freedom of internal movements of political parties to reach agreements and alliances that allow them to present nominations or common candidates at all elective levels, guaranteeing participation on equal terms and the right of the citizen to be nominated by more than one internal movement, the following regulations are established:

• 1)

  No candidate can appear in more than one box on the ballot, even if nominated by several movements, so as not to allow more than one mark per candidate on each ballot. The National Electoral Council (CNE) must issue regulations to adapt the corresponding electoral documentation;

• 2)

  Alliances may be registered at any time from the request for registration of the internal movements that compose them until sixty (60) days before the primary elections provided that they comply with the requirement of presenting the presidential formula and the complete lists of candidates for Deputies to the Central American Parliament, the complete lists of candidates for Deputies to the National Congress in at least fourteen (14) departments, as well as the complete lists of candidates for municipal corporations in a number of at least two hundred (200) municipalities, and;

• 3)

  Alliances that are registered at the same time as the registration of the movements that compose them shall only be admitted if the movements in question present individually for each movement the complete lists of candidates for deputies to the National Congress in at least fourteen (14) departments, as well as the complete lists of candidates for municipal corporations in a number of at least two hundred (200) municipalities. The National Electoral Council (CNE) shall regulate everything related to alliances between internal movements not provided for in the preceding articles.

CALL FOR PRIMARY ELECTIONS. The National Electoral Council (CNE) must issue a call to the Political Parties for primary elections, six (6) months before the second Sunday of the month of March of the year in which the elections are held.

PRESENTATION OF DOCUMENTS. The National Electoral Council (CNE) must receive the documents that certify the conditions of eligibility of citizens who present themselves as candidates for positions of popular election, complying with what is established in the Law and its statutes.

LOCATION OF MOVEMENTS ON BALLOTS. Upon completion of the registration period, the National Electoral Council (CNE) must establish the order in which the movements will be placed on the electoral ballots, by means of a drawing for each Political Party, valid for all elective levels.

The National Electoral Council (CNE) must deliver to political parties, starting from the registration of internal movements, a copy in electronic form of the preliminary lists of voters, for the relevant purposes.

The Polling Stations for primary elections must be composed of one principal member and their respective alternate, for each of the internal movements of the political parties. These must perform their duties on an ad honorem basis and must be voters of the municipality and preferably from the same Polling Station or voting center to which they are assigned.

The National Electoral Council (CNE), through the National Institute of Political-Electoral Training, with the collaboration of the internal movements, seventy (70) days before and up to thirty (30) days before the elections will develop the training processes for the members of the polling stations. The names of the members of the Polling Stations, duly trained, must be incorporated into the list of voters of the polling station to which their corresponding movement assigns them. For these purposes and within the same training period, the National Electoral Council (CNE) through the National Institute of Political-Electoral Training must officially deliver to each internal movement the list of trained members.

The Declaration of primary elections must be made no later than thirty (30) calendar days after the election is held and applying the same rules for the Declaration of General Elections.

For the election of candidates for President and Vice Presidents of the Republic, the Formula of the Movement that has achieved a simple majority of votes shall be declared elected.

Declaration of Candidates for Deputies to the National Congress. The slate of candidates for Proprietary Deputies and their respective Alternates to the National Congress by department, in each Political Party, shall be integrated by adding the total of marks obtained by each candidate, following the order from highest to lowest number of marks, in such a way that the first place shall be held by the one who obtained the highest number of marks; the second place, the one who in descending form follows in the marks obtained and so successively until completing the number of deputies that corresponds by Department. In departments where only one deputy and their respective alternate must be elected, the election shall be by simple majority.

Declaration of Candidates for Deputies to the Central American Parliament. For the integration of the slate of candidates for Proprietary Deputies and their respective alternates to the Central American Parliament, the principle of proportional representation must be applied and the national electoral quotient must be taken as the basis at the presidential elective level of each internal movement. Once the primary elections have been verified, the National Electoral Council (CNE) shall establish the distribution of the twenty (20) proprietary candidates and their respective alternates and their corresponding order of precedence for the declaration of the election.

Declaration of Candidates to Members of Municipal Corporations. For the Declaration of the election of members of Municipal Corporations, the following procedure must be followed:

• 1)

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

• 2)

  The citizens nominated by the movement in their case who have obtained the simple majority of votes shall be declared elected candidates for Mayor and Vice-Mayor;

• 3)

  The citizen nominated by the participating movement is declared elected as a candidate for first Alderman, who after subtracting the municipal electoral quotient with which the Mayor and Vice-Mayor candidate is declared elected, has a majority of votes and so successively until completing the number of aldermen that correspond to the Municipality; and,

• 4)

  If the distribution referred to in the previous numeral of this Article does not complete the total number of candidates for Aldermen that must be elected by each municipality, the candidate for Alderman is declared elected, who corresponds from the list of the participating movement in their case, who has achieved the highest municipal electoral remainder and so successively, in the descending order of remainders, until completing the number of Aldermen to be elected.

Declaration in Case of Tie. In case of a tie in the votes or marks obtained, electoral quotient or vote remainders, by two (2) or more movements or candidates at any elective level, the National Electoral Council (CNE) must resolve the tie in the following manner: 1) Full recount of votes through special scrutiny at the elective level in which the tie occurred; and 2) If the tie persists, the National Electoral Council (CNE) must order the election to be repeated within the twenty (20) calendar days following the declaration of the tie only among the tied candidates.

Practice of Primary Elections. The practice of primary elections must be carried out in accordance with what is established in this Law for the practice of general elections, in all matters that are applicable.

CHALLENGE ACTIONS AND REMEDIES. Against the results of the voting and the declaration of primary elections, the same actions may be exercised and the same remedies may be used that this Law regulates for general elections.

DISSOLUTION OF INTERNAL MOVEMENTS REGISTERED FOR PRIMARY ELECTIONS. The dissolution of the internal movements of political parties must be decreed by the National Electoral Council (CNE) no later than thirty (30) calendar days after the Declaration of primary elections, without prejudice to the result of the challenges that are pending resolution. In such circumstance, it must proceed to its liquidation, with the candidates of the presidential formula nominated by the responsible movement being jointly and severally liable for any obligation in which they have incurred by reason of its existence and operation and may be sued in their personal capacity. CHAPTER III GENERAL PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO INTERNAL AND PRIMARY ELECTIONS

SIMULTANEITY OF PRIMARY ELECTIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES. Primary elections must be held by all political parties mandatorily on the same day, and in accordance with the modalities established in the preceding articles and their bylaws.

SIMULTANEITY OF INTERNAL AND PRIMARY ELECTIONS. Internal elections of political parties may be held on the same date and under the same procedure as primary elections.

SUPERVISION IN INTERNAL AND PRIMARY ELECTIONS. The National Electoral Council (CNE) is the entity responsible for supervising internal and primary electoral processes, as of the notification by the political party and the National Electoral Council (CNE) of the call for the registration of movements. CHAPTER IV GENERAL ELECTIONS

The general elections shall be held on the last Sunday of the month of November of the year prior to the year in which the respective governmental period ends.

The National Electoral Council (CNE), six months before the date of general elections, through national radio and television broadcast, shall convene citizens to elect the following positions:

• 1)

  President and Designates to the Presidency of the Republic;

• 2)

  Deputies to the Central American Parliament;

• 3)

  Deputies to the National Congress; and,

• 4)

  Members of the Municipal Corporations. Said convocation shall be published in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta".

The National Electoral Council (CNE) shall register ex officio, for participation in the general elections, the candidates who were elected in the primary electoral process of each political party under any of the modalities authorized by this law, the day after the general elections convocation has been held. It shall also register independent candidates who meet the legal requirements, once the resolution recognizing them becomes final. In case of resignation or death of a registered candidate, the party authority shall proceed with the corresponding replacement. Candidates from political parties that did not participate in the primaries shall be registered in the general electoral process, provided they comply with the requirement of presenting the presidential ticket and the complete lists of candidates for Deputies to the Central American Parliament, the complete lists of candidates for Deputies to the National Congress in at least fourteen (14) departments, as well as the complete lists of candidates for municipal corporations in a number of at least two hundred (200) municipalities.

The following cannot be registered as Deputies to the National Congress:

• 1)

  The President and the designates to the presidency of the Republic;

• 2)

  The Magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice;

• 3)

  The State Secretaries and Undersecretaries;

• 4)

  The military chiefs with national jurisdiction;

• 5)

  The heads of the superior bodies of direction, government and administration of the decentralized institutions of the State;

• 6)

  Active duty military personnel and members of security forces or any other armed body;

• 7)

  Other public officials and employees of the Executive and Judicial Powers as determined by law, except those who hold teaching and health assistance positions;

• 8)

  The Counselors of the National Electoral Council and the Director and subdirectors of the National Registry of Persons;

• 9)

  The Attorney General and Sub-Attorney General of the Republic, Members of the Superior Court of Accounts; General Prosecutor of the Republic and Deputy General Prosecutor, Environmental Ombudsman, the superintendent of concessions and the National Commissioner of Human Rights;

• 10)

  The spouse and relatives within the fourth degree of consanguinity and second degree of affinity of those cited in numerals 1, 2, 4, 8, and 9 above, and of the Secretary and Undersecretary of State in the Departments of Defense and National Security;

• 11)

  The spouse and relatives of the chiefs of military zones, commanders of military units, military delegates, departmental or sectional delegates, delegates of security forces or other armed bodies, within the fourth degree of consanguinity and second degree of affinity, when they are candidates for the Department where those exercise jurisdiction;

• 12)

  State concessionaires for the exploitation of natural resources or contractors of services or public works financed with State funds and those who, for such reasons, have pending accounts with the State; and, 13. Those in default in their obligations to the Public Treasury. These incompatibilities and ineligibilities shall affect those who hold the indicated positions within the six months prior to the date of election. II. The following cannot be registered as Deputies to the Central American Parliament and to Municipal Corporations: The spouse and relatives within the fourth degree of consanguinity and second degree of affinity of those cited in numerals 1, 2, 4, 8, and 9 included in the preceding paragraph, and of the Secretary and Undersecretary of State in the Departments of Defense and National Security. These incompatibilities and ineligibilities shall affect those who hold the indicated positions within the six months prior to the date of election.

Political parties may conduct political activities at all times with the purpose of strengthening their organization, building capacity, making known by any means their statement of principles and programs of political action, as well as strengthening the processes of promoting civic and democratic principles and values. Such activities may be carried out without prior permission in facilities, sites, and closed property of private ownership; however, in no case shall public order be altered, violence be employed or permitted, nor shall the image, good name, honor, and personal and family privacy to which every person is entitled be violated.

Electoral Campaign is the set of activities carried out by Political Parties, internal movements, alliances or independent candidacies with the purpose of publicizing their ideological principles, government programs and promoting the candidates they have nominated for elective positions in order to capture citizen preferences, without the same expressly requesting votes in favor of a certain political option.

Electoral Propaganda is the activity that seeks to promote and exercise influence on the opinion and conduct of citizens to induce or request votes in favor of certain candidates from movements and candidates of political parties, alliances of political parties and independent candidacies, as applicable, in places of public domain or using mainly mass media.

The National Electoral Council (CNE) must carry out campaign and electoral propaganda monitoring and follow-up activities through the means it determines, among others, the following:

• 1)

  Ensure compliance with the provisions and regulations regarding campaign, electoral propaganda and its suspension, contemplated in this Law and its Regulation;

• 2)

  Investigate and report on violations of this Law and its Regulation, with respect to campaign and electoral propaganda;

• 3)

  Request information regarding campaign and electoral propaganda from Political Parties, internal movements, alliances of political parties and independent candidacies, their candidates, media outlets and other companies dedicated to the dissemination and production of propaganda and advertising, as well as from the parties subject to investigation, who shall be obligated to collaborate and facilitate the same without delay;

• 4)

  Monitor compliance with the suspension of campaign and electoral propaganda, surveys and opinion polls;

• 5)

  Prepare a final activity report reflecting the results of its function, as well as the main findings and incidents resulting from the process, within its area of competence; and,

• 6)

  Comply with and execute what is established in the Law, proceeding ex officio to conduct the pertinent investigations and prevention of acts that may occur in violation of the established legal provisions.

During the electoral propaganda period established in this Law, political parties, their internal movements, their alliances, candidates and independent candidacies may conduct all types of activities for the distribution and dissemination of electoral propaganda through the use of television, radio stations, movie theaters, written newspapers, telephones, electronic mail, magazines, posters, billboards, fixed or mobile loudspeakers, and any other system or private property, without prejudice to what is related to the free expression of thought enshrined in Article 72 of the Constitution of the Republic and other public freedoms and rights guaranteed in the laws; likewise, they may conduct meetings, public gatherings, marches, caravans and rallies.

Those who contract electoral propaganda are responsible for its content. Electoral propaganda must remain within the bounds of morality and ethics and must comply with all provisions established in this Law and its regulations.

OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE INFORMATION. The National Electoral Council (CNE) can request from companies and media all kinds of information about messages, advertisements and advertising spaces related to political party advertising and electoral propaganda. This must be delivered immediately and without restrictions. All media must send to the National Electoral Council (CNE) without needing to be requested all billing made as concept of electoral propaganda.

PERIOD OF ELECTORAL PROPAGANDA. Electoral propaganda can only be carried out within fifty (50) calendar days prior to primary elections and ninety (90) calendar days prior to the holding of general elections. The last day to conduct electoral propaganda is the Monday prior to election day until eleven fifty-nine in the evening (11:59 P.M.). Outside the periods established in this Article, electoral propaganda is prohibited through the use of television, radio, written newspapers, magazines, advertising billboards in public sites or places, fixed or mobile loudspeakers. Those who violate what is established in this Article shall be sanctioned with a fine of fifty (50) minimum salaries; the same sanction shall be imposed on the media and companies involved, without prejudice to the administrative sanctions that entail temporary suspension of the right to conduct propaganda by the violator.

ELECTORAL SILENCE. Within the five (5) calendar days prior to primary and general elections, public demonstrations, all political propaganda, the disclosure of total or partial results of surveys or public opinion polls, printed material, audiovisual, electronic, radio, magnetic or of any kind are prohibited. Non-compliance with what is provided in this Article shall be sanctioned with a fine of forty (40) minimum salaries.

ELECTORAL PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES. During the electoral propaganda period, political parties, their internal movements, their alliances and candidates and independent candidacies can hold marches, meetings and public demonstrations, indoors or outdoors; traverse public and private places; carry out publications and make use of the media of communication. These activities must be carried out within the periods and modalities established in the Law and its Regulation.

MEANS THAT CAN BE USED IN ELECTORAL PROPAGANDA. Within the electoral propaganda period, written means, images, photography, video, drawings, cartoons or similar, recordings and spots broadcast, exhibited or distributed through:

• 1)

  Signs, posters, banners, advertising billboards and flags;

• 2)

  Luminous announcements and fixed or mobile loudspeakers;

• 3)

  Bulletins, brochures, trifolds, posters, posters, stickers, flyers or pamphlets and similar;

• 4)

  T-shirts or other clothing garments;

• 5)

  Calendars, pins, keychains, pencils and other advertising supplies;

• 6)

  Newspapers, journals, magazines and similar;

• 7)

  Radio, television and cinema;

• 8)

  Electronic mail;

• 9)

  Telephone; and,

• 10)

  Any other means, system or private asset.

POLITICAL PROPAGANDA PROHIBITED. It is prohibited at all times:

• 1)

  To fix 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 exhort citizens to support, adhere to, or withdraw from political parties, alliances, internal movements or independent candidacies; using religious beliefs or motives;

• 3)

  To fix propaganda over that already placed by others, in authorized locations;

• 4)

  To obstruct the transit or vision of persons or vehicles;

• 5)

  Political propaganda printed without printer's imprint;

• 6)

  To use national or foreign symbols and heroes, religious symbols, as well as expressions, allusions or grounds of a religious character;

• 7)

  To use symbols or distinctive elements of other political parties, internal movements, alliances or independent candidacies;

• 8)

  Contracting of propaganda by natural or legal person, which has the purpose of discrediting any Political Party, its internal movements, its alliances, candidates and independent candidacies;

• 9)

  That which employs images of facts and acts that threaten the mental health of Hondurans;

• 10)

  That which promotes non-compliance with the Law;

• 11)

  That which promotes disrespect for Political Parties;

• 12)

  That which violates the dignity of persons;

• 13)

  That which promotes electoral abstentionism; and,

• 14)

  Not to use images or figures of children and persons of the female sex that exploit them incorrectly in their bodies;

• 15)

  It is prohibited those that incite racism and rational discrimination. Violators must be sanctioned with a fine of twenty (20) to one hundred (100) minimum wages, without prejudice to the deduction of criminal liability that applies.

ANONYMOUS ELECTORAL PROPAGANDA. SANCTION. Anonymous propaganda is prohibited, understanding this as that in which the natural or legal person that promotes and contracts it cannot be determined. The owners, directors or managers of printing, media in general, or advertising companies are responsible for the printing, transmission or publication of anonymous propaganda. Violators of the provisions of this Article shall be imposed a fine of one hundred (100) to two hundred (200) minimum wages. In case of recidivism, the cancellation of the operating permit shall be proceeded with.

USE OF STATE MEDIA. The National Electoral Council (CNE) must make use of the media owned by the State to communicate, disseminate and guide the citizenry and the actors of the process regarding everything related to elections. As a mechanism for democratic strengthening, in general elections the National Electoral Council (CNE) shall have at its disposal said media, in accordance with the agreements it enters into with the Executive and Legislative powers, a time slot and/or space and must assign, following the principles of equality and equity, the corresponding spaces to Political Parties, alliances of Political Parties and independent candidacies at the presidential level, participating in the electoral process.

PROHIBITION OF THE USE OF STATE MEDIA. SANCTION. Except as provided in the preceding Article, the use of state media for electoral propaganda purposes is prohibited. Officials who contravene this provision shall be removed from their positions and additionally a fine of twenty (20) to one hundred (100) minimum wages shall be applied to them.

EQUITY OF ACCESS TO MEDIA. The National Electoral Council (CNE) may enter into agreements with media outlets to achieve equity in the access and distribution of electoral propaganda in programs in the different media.

COLLABORATION OF MEDIA WITH THE NATIONAL ELECTORAL COUNCIL. Radio, print, and television media outlets, both public and private, must collaborate in a special manner with the National Electoral Council (CNE), within seventy-two (72) hours before the holding of elections, in order to guide citizens toward their best participation in the electoral process.

SUSPENSION OF STATE ADVERTISING. During the period of electoral propaganda and until the conclusion of election day, only institutional promotion campaigns of the central government, other branches of State, decentralized and deconcentrated entities and municipal corporations shall be permitted, with the PROHIBITION that the image, voice, name and/or signature of the head of this institution, a political party or any candidate for elective office appear. Exempted from the above prohibition are information campaigns by the electoral authorities, those relating to health, natural disasters, civil protection and security in cases of emergency.

PROHIBITIONS TO PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND EMPLOYEES. SANCTION. It is prohibited for public officials and employees to:

• 1)

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

• 2)

  Perform acts of political proselytism within the state institution where they work;

• 3)

  Use the authority, means and influences of their positions to favor persons and political parties, their internal movements, their alliances, candidates, independent candidacies;

• 4)

  Use acts of government to conduct any type of partisan propaganda; and,

• 5)

  Use financial resources or State assets to conduct electoral propaganda. During the sixty (60) days prior to the date of general and primary elections, acts of inauguration of public works and their dissemination in media outlets are suspended. Those who violate the provisions contained in this Article are subject to payment of a fine equivalent to two (2) times the monthly salary and in case of recurrence, double the same without prejudice to removal from their position.

REMOVAL OF ELECTORAL PROPAGANDA. It is the responsibility of the political party to remove the propaganda it has placed and repair or replace property in case of damage, within a period not exceeding thirty (30) days after the corresponding elections have been held. After this period has elapsed, municipal authorities are authorized to carry out the corresponding electoral propaganda cleanup, charging the respective political party for the costs, plus the corresponding fine.

IMMEDIATE REMOVAL OF PROHIBITED PROPAGANDA. The National Electoral Council (CNE) has the authority to order the immediate removal of any prohibited propaganda or the immediate suspension of its dissemination. Such resolution must be notified to the propaganda officer of the political party, internal movement, alliance of Political Parties, independent candidacy, candidate and the corresponding media outlet or advertising company, who must immediately comply with and carry out what is provided therein.

SANCTIONS FOR FAILURE TO REMOVE ELECTORAL PROPAGANDA. In case of non-compliance with the removal of electoral propaganda, in accordance with what is established in this Law, the political party, internal movement, alliance of political parties and independent candidacy that violates this shall be sanctioned by the National Electoral Council (CNE) with a fine of up to one hundred (100) minimum salaries according to the amount of propaganda not removed, which can be deducted from the payment corresponding to the political debt when appropriate.

In the case of billboards, removal is the responsibility of the owner thereof, under penalty of the application of the fine previously mentioned. CHAPTER II REGULATION OF SURVEYS AND OPINION POLLS

REGULATION OF SURVEYS AND OPINION POLLS. Any natural or legal person who within their activities wishes to conduct measurements of electoral behavior, with the purpose of publishing or disseminating, either on their own or through third parties, the total or partial results obtained from surveys and public opinion polls conducted on the aforementioned subject, must register with the National Electoral Council (CNE) from the call for primary and general elections for each of the processes in which it will carry out such activity. Once registered, they must notify the National Electoral Council (CNE) with due anticipation regarding the methods and procedures used in conducting the surveys or opinion polls for their prior authorization, which must be resolved within a maximum period of five (5) business days. It is prohibited to publish or disseminate the total or partial results of surveys and opinion polls within thirty (30) calendar days before the primary and general elections. This prohibition covers those who, not having conducted a survey or opinion poll, have contracted it and publish, disseminate or make known the results on their own account. In case of non-compliance with this provision, the violator or violators shall be sanctioned with a fine of two hundred (200) to one thousand (1,000) minimum salaries. If non-compliance with the provisions established in this Article is carried out by natural or legal persons who have not previously registered with the National Electoral Council (CNE), they incur in electoral crime without prejudice to double the fine established in this article.

AUTHORIZATION TO CONDUCT SURVEYS AND OPINION POLLS. Once the call for primary elections and general elections has been made, only natural and legal persons authorized by the National Electoral Council (CNE) can conduct surveys or opinion polls. To obtain such authorization, the interested party must submit in writing a registration request to the Council, determining the type of surveys or opinion polls proposed to be conducted and their frequency, and must attach duly authenticated photocopies of the following documents:

• 1)

  The public deed of incorporation of the company or declaration of individual merchant duly registered. If foreign, the respective agreement authorizing its incorporation;

• 2)

  Power of attorney in favor of a legal professional who represents it; and,

• 3)

  Description of the methods and procedures it normally uses in conducting surveys or opinion polls.

IDENTIFICATION FOR PUBLICATION OF SURVEYS. In order for surveys or opinion polls conducted by companies authorized to do so to be published, they must bear the number of the resolution by which they were authorized by the National Electoral Council (CNE). A copy of every survey or opinion poll must be delivered to the Council the day following its publication.

AUTHORIZATION FOR EXIT POLLS. Natural or legal persons who propose to conduct surveys and opinion polls at the polling place on election day must obtain authorization from the National Electoral Council (CNE), for which they must meet the same requirements referred to in the previous Article.

DISCLOSURE OF EXIT POLL RESULTS. It is completely prohibited to disseminate, publish or comment on the day of the celebration of elections, in a direct or indirect manner, total or partial results of surveys, opinion polls, exit polls. Results may only be published after three (3) hours following the complete closure of voting at the national level, decreed by the National Electoral Council (CNE). Those who violate what is indicated in the preceding paragraph shall be sanctioned with a fine of two hundred (200) to one thousand (1,000) minimum salaries. The same fine shall be imposed on the media outlet that discloses the results of the exit poll before three (3) hours after the closure of voting at the national level. If the non-compliance with the provisions established in this Article is carried out by natural or legal persons who have not previously registered with the National Electoral Council (CNE), double the fine established in this Article shall be applied to them, without prejudice to the closure of the media outlet that disclosed said survey.

AUTHORIZATION. During the electoral campaign period, in order to guarantee the orderly and peaceful development of electoral activity, demonstrations, concentrations, parades and public meetings in open places, carried out by Political Parties, their internal movements, their alliances and independent candidacies require authorization from the National Electoral Council (CNE). Authorization must be granted based on the following provisions:

• 1)

  The request must be submitted in writing to the National Electoral Council (CNE) if the event in question is national or to the Municipal Electoral Council if the event is local, specifying the day, place and time when the demonstration, concentration, parade or meeting will take place. The recipient of the request must record the date and time of its presentation and it must be resolved within twenty-four (24) hours respecting the order of presentation;

• 2)

  Authorization or permit must be immediately notified to the petitioner and to the corresponding governmental, police and security authorities, to the other political parties, movements, alliances, or independent candidacies, within the corresponding municipal term;

• 3)

  Political events cannot be held less than two hundred (200) meters from bridges, road intersections or main public roads, religious temples, fire stations, red cross, hospitals, police facilities and educational centers, the latter on business days. In the authorization, the closure of propaganda offices of the other political parties, movements, alliances, and independent candidacies must be ordered, during the celebration of the event and that are located less than two hundred (200) meters from the place where it takes place. When authorization is granted by the Municipal Electoral Council, it must immediately inform the National Electoral Council (CNE).

AUTHORIZATION OF SIMULTANEOUS POLITICAL MEETINGS IN DIFFERENT POPULATION OR TERRITORIAL SECTORS. The National Electoral Council (CNE) represented by Municipal Electoral Councils, may authorize the celebration of two (2) or more public events to different political parties, internal movements, alliances of political parties, and independent candidacies, within the municipal term, as long as they are developed in different population and territorial sectors, to avoid political conflict and not compromise security, free mobility of participants and of the general public.

GUARANTEE OF NON-OBSTRUCTION. The meetings, events and political activities authorized by the National Electoral Council or the Municipal Electoral Council (CNE) cannot be prevented, repressed or obstructed in their development by any authority, as long as they are carried out in an orderly and peaceful manner.

PRIVATE POLITICAL MEETINGS. Outside the legal period established, encounters, meetings, events and political activities may be held as long as they are celebrated in private closed spaces with the purpose of promoting candidates of political parties, internal movements, alliances of political parties, and independent candidacies, subject to the Police and Civic Coexistence Law.

PROHIBITION OF PUBLIC SPECTACLES AND SALE OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES. Public spectacles and the sale, distribution and/or consumption of alcoholic beverages are prohibited from six o'clock (6:00 a.m.) on the day prior to the day on which an election is to take place, until six o'clock p.m. (6:00 p.m.) on the day following the day on which it was held. Whoever violates the provisions of this Article shall be imposed a fine of FOUR (4) TO TEN (10) MINIMUM SALARIES.

CANCELLATION OF EVENTS THAT MAY INTERFERE. The National Electoral Council (CNE) must order the suspension or cancellation of any type of event that may interfere directly or indirectly with the holding of elections.

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ON ELECTION DAY. On election day, the owners of public transportation with assigned routes must provide the service as if it were an ordinary working day. The suspension of service shall be sanctioned in accordance with this Law. TITLE VIII PRACTICE OF ELECTIONS CHAPTER I PRACTICE OF ELECTIONS

PERSONS WHO MAY REMAIN DURING VOTING IN THE POLLING STATION. During the voting day, only the members of the Polling Station, national and international observers, and the delegates

observers of the political parties accredited in accordance with this law may remain in the premises of a Polling Station.

PERSONS WHO CANNOT EXERCISE THE VOTE NOR REMAIN IN THE PREMISES OF A POLLING STATION. Persons who appear under the effects of any drug, in a state of intoxication, armed or carrying insignias or emblems that demonstrate the political affiliation of the voter cannot exercise the vote, nor remain in the premises of a Polling Station. Only the delegate observers of the political parties may remain identified.

PRESENTATION AND ACCREDITATION OF MEMBERS OF VOTING RECEIVING BOARDS. The members of the Voting Receiving Boards must present themselves at the Voting Center at five thirty in the morning (5:30 am.), and accredit themselves before the Board, with their national identification document (DNI). With the presence of more than half of the Board members, the electoral ballot box will be received. At the same time, the observer delegates of the political parties must also present themselves.

CONDITIONING OF THE PHYSICAL SPACE OF THE VOTING RECEIVING BOARD. The members of the Voting Receiving Boards must condition the physical space where the Board will be installed, ensuring that voting takes place comfortably and the secrecy of the vote is guaranteed.

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

• 1)

  The National Electoral Census;

• 2)

  Election Lists;

• 3)

  Voting Notebooks;

• 4)

  Minutes of Electoral Bodies;

• 5)

  Incident Reports;

• 6)

  Closing minutes of the Voting Receiving Board for each elective level and their certified copies;

• 7)

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

• 8)

  Written proposals from Political Parties to integrate Electoral Bodies;

• 9)

  Information contained in preliminary results transmission formats;

• 10)

  Electoral Ballots;

• 11)

  National Identification Document (DNI); and, 12. Lists of candidates for positions of popular election.

ELECTORAL BALLOTS. The Electoral Ballot is the document that contains the insignia of the political parties and the names and recent photos of the candidates for: President of the Republic and Designees to the Presidency of the Republic, Principal Deputies to the National Congress, and Municipal Mayor and Vice-Mayor. For security, ballots must be marked on the reverse with a special seal from the National Electoral Council (CNE); bear the signatures of its three (3) Principal Councilors; furthermore, indicate the elective period, the date of the elections, the space to place the number of the Voting Receiving Board; Municipality, Department and must be issued separately for: 1. President of the Republic and Designees to the Presidency of the Republic; 2. Deputies to the National Congress; and, 3. Municipal Corporations. The ballots must contain the following requirements:

• 1)

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

• 2)

  Their size for each elective level must be set by the National Electoral Council (CNE);

• 3)

  On their main face they must have printed the following legends:

  • a)

    At the top carry as title the word ballot and the elective level to which it corresponds;

  • b)

    The name and flag 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)

    At the Presidential and Municipal elective level, for each party, a box containing the respective photographs and blank space to mark the vote; and, e. At the elective level of Deputies to the National Congress a box containing photographs of each deputy and blank space to mark the vote. 4. The spaces corresponding to each Political Party, Alliances or Independent Candidacies must be separated by a line; 5. The order of placement of the Political Parties, Alliances and Independent candidacies in the spaces of the electoral ballots must be established according to the drawing held by the National Electoral Council (CNE) jointly with the Electoral Advisory Council, which must be held within five (5) days following the resolution of registration of the political parties for the general elections and internal movements for primary elections; 6. In the case of registered candidates who did not submit a photograph, the space must be left blank and only their name will appear; and 7. When the Political Party or Alliances have not registered candidates at any elective level, the corresponding boxes must appear blank, without any type of legend.

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

REPRESENTATION IN THE PRINTING PROCESS The National Electoral Council (CNE), political parties, alliances and independent presidential candidacies, have the right to accredit representatives in order to be present during the printing process. Once printing is finished, the mold used for printing must be destroyed, drawing up the corresponding report that must be signed by the printing company owner and by the representative designated by each Political Organization and the General Secretary of the National Electoral Council.

SENDING OF ELECTORAL MATERIAL The National Electoral Council (CNE) must send, with due notice, the respective electoral material and documentation to the Municipal Electoral Councils. These shall distribute them to the Vote Receiving Boards, no later than one hour before voting begins. The Municipal Electoral Councils, as soon as they receive the electoral material and documentation, must notify, by means of communication available to them, the National Electoral Council (CNE).

RECEPTION OF BAGS CONTAINING ELECTORAL MATERIAL IN PUBLIC SESSION The reception of bags containing the electoral documentation and the rest of the material must be carried out in public session, of which a report must be drawn up signed by the members of the Municipal Electoral Council, informing the National Electoral Council (CNE), the number of bags or incomplete material.

RECEPTION AND REVIEW OF ELECTORAL DOCUMENTATION AND MATERIAL The members of the Vote Receiving Board shall receive from the Municipal Electoral Council, the electoral briefcase and must verify in writing that it is being delivered, observing in its delivery the security elements that have been determined. Once the electoral briefcase is received, the members of the Vote Receiving Board shall open it. Likewise, verify that the briefcase contains the electoral documents, auxiliary documents and electoral materials, to conduct voting and counting, which among others are the following:

• 1)

  Inventory sheet for control of receipt and delivery of electoral material;

• 2)

  Opening Report;

• 3)

  Voting Notebook;

• 4)

  Ballot booklets for each elective level, in sufficient number for the exercise of the right to vote by the voters assigned to the respective Vote Receiving Board;

• 5)

  Closing Reports on security paper and duly coded and numbered correlatively for each elective level, with their respective certified copies;

• 6)

  The list of voters;

• 7)

  Incident sheet;

• 8)

  Counting formats for each elective level;

• 9)

  Indelible ink to be applied to the voter's finger;

• 10)

  Stamps of "Ratified", "Counted", "Voted", "Valid", "Null", "Blank", "Surplus" and "Conforms to its original";

• 11)

  Instructions for the Vote Receiving Board;

• 12)

  Ballot boxes and voting booths;

• 13)

  Transparent security adhesive tape to be placed over the counting results area in the closing reports;

• 14)

  Security bag for the return of electoral documents;

• 15)

  Fingerprint reader; and, 16. Others that may be necessary.

ASSEMBLY AND REVIEW OF BALLOT BOXES The members of the Vote Receiving Boards, in possession of the electoral material and documents, in the designated locations, must proceed to assemble the ballot boxes and booths, review the ballot boxes to verify that they are empty, close them with a transparent security adhesive tape that must cross both bodies of the ballot box, seal them in such a way that it cannot be opened without alteration and rupture of said band, and sign them by all members of the Vote Receiving Board.

Quorum for Valid Integration and Operation of Polling Stations

The Polling Stations, once all their members are present or with a majority plus one of them, shall be validly integrated. To this effect, their members must deliver their national identification document to the secretary of the Polling Station and take the oath of law with the following formula: "I PROMISE TO BE FAITHFUL TO THE REPUBLIC, TO COMPLY AND ENFORCE THE CONSTITUTION AND THE LAWS"; proceeding thereafter to draw up and sign the respective minutes of opening of voting and to announce the beginning thereof. Once the Polling Station is integrated, no member can join after eight in the morning (8:00 a.m.). Also the observers delegates of the political parties must deposit their national identification document with the secretary of the Polling Station, who shall keep them in custody during the voting process.

Absence of the President, Secretary or Scrutineer of the Polling Station

Once a Polling Station is integrated, in the absence of any of its members, it must be covered by the corresponding alternate, who must perform the functions corresponding to the person being replaced and sign the opening and closing minutes of voting and the certified copies and other electoral documents, in the box corresponding to the position he substituted. When an alternate substitutes the president or secretary, when signing on the reverse of the ballot papers, he must do so in the corresponding box, preceding his signature with the word BY.

Development of Voting

Once the Polling Station is integrated, at seven o'clock (7:00 a.m.), the President of the Polling Station shall announce "VOTING BEGINS", which must be conducted without interruption until five o'clock in the afternoon (5:00 p.m.); in an non-extendable manner. All voters who are in line at this time may exercise their right to vote. Subsequently, the following sequence must be followed:

• 1)

  The president requires each voter entering the Polling Station to present their national identification document; must show said card to the other members; subsequently, deliver it to the secretary who must verify his fingerprint in the electronic reader or any other device that the National Electoral Council (CNE) assigns to each Polling Station to fully guarantee and verify that the citizen's identity corresponds to that appearing registered in the respective voting notebook;

• 2)

  Once the secretary has verified that the voter appears registered in the list of voters, he must retain his national identification document until the individual procedure for exercising the right to vote is completed, the other members of the Polling Station must observe the voter's hand to verify that his fingers are not stained with indelible ink that indicates he could have voted at another Polling Station; if they have any, the secretary must confiscate his national identification document and order him to leave the premises, registering it in the incidents sheet. The secretary must also temporarily retain any digital and/or photographic device for the time the voter uses to vote;

• 3)

  If the voter has no impediment, the president must sign together with the secretary of the Polling Station on the reverse of the ballot papers and in the spaces reserved for this purpose and deliver them to the voter;

• 4)

  The voter must go to the private place to mark the ballot papers, which he can do in the following manner: he must vote for only one candidate in the case of Presidential level and Municipal Corporation, for the level of Deputies to the National Congress he must make a number of marks equal to the number of Deputies to be elected for the respective Department;

• 5)

  To vote or mark the ballots, the voter may use graphic, alphabetic, numeric symbols or a combination of all of them, in any area of the box corresponding to the candidate or list of his preference as the case may be. In the ballot for Deputies to the National Congress, one mark or continuous line is allowed to express the voter's preference for two or more candidates. 6. The voter after marking the ballots must fold them so that his vote or marks are hidden and must show them to the members of the Polling Station, so that they verify that they contain the signatures that the president and secretary of the Polling Station previously affixed to them; if they have them, the stamp "RATIFIED" must be affixed and the voter must deposit each ballot in the respective ballot box; 7. After depositing the ballots in the respective ballot boxes, the secretary must instruct the voter to sign the voting notebook, in the blank box corresponding to his name and if he cannot sign, to affix the thumbprint of the index finger of the right or left hand or that of any other finger, failing that. Subsequently, the secretary of the Polling Station must affix the "VOTED" stamp in the voter's box; and, 8. Immediately thereafter, one of the members of the Polling Station must examine the little finger of the voter's right hand, or the corresponding one, to see if it has greasy or waterproof residues, seeking to remove them if he has any and proceed to apply indelible ink to it; subsequently, the secretary will return the voter's national identification document (DNI) and the device or devices that may have been retained, the voter leaving immediately from the premises.

Voter's Refusal to Have Indelible Ink Applied

The voter who refuses to have indelible ink applied is subject to preventive detention for the time remaining to end voting, with the president of the Polling Station retaining the respective national identification document, noting the fact in the incidents sheet and requesting the assistance of the public force for purposes of preventive detention of the offender.

Closing of Voting

After the time for uninterrupted conduct of voting has elapsed, at five o'clock in the afternoon (5:00 p.m.), the president must announce "VOTING IS CLOSED"; after that time, only citizens who are in line at the time of closing may vote, prior to delivery of their identity cards to the president of the polling station; and finally the members of the respective Polling Station and the observer delegates of the political parties must proceed to vote, under the same voting procedure as the other voters. If by accident or force majeure, voting does not begin in a Polling Station at the time specified in this law, the members of the Polling Station by unanimous consent may extend voting until six o'clock in the afternoon (6:00 p.m.), postponing until that time the announcement of "VOTING IS CLOSED", after which only citizens who are in line at the time of closing, the members of the Polling Station, and immediately thereafter their respective national identification documents shall be returned. CHAPTER II GENERAL SCRUTINY FOR ELECTIONS

PRELIMINARY STEPS BEFORE BEGINNING THE SCRUTINY OF THE POLLING STATION BOARD Once voting has closed and the delegates of the Polling Station Board have exercised their right to vote, the following procedure must be followed:

• 1)

  The president, together with the other members of the Board, shall verify the condition of the ballot boxes and shall cover the slot through which ballots are deposited in each one with adhesive tape;

• 2)

  Unused or surplus ballots from the elective levels of Deputies to the National Congress and Municipal Corporations shall be provisionally stored in the electoral briefcase, and;

• 3)

  Only the documents and electoral materials necessary to begin the scrutiny of the presidential elective level shall be left, including unused or surplus ballots from that level.

PUBLIC SCRUTINY Scrutiny in Polling Station Boards is mandatory public, any citizen may witness its development and must observe the following rules:

• 1)

  Refrain from obstructing or interfering with the exercise of the functions of the delegates of the Polling Station Board;

• 2)

  Remain at a distance of no less than four (4) meters from the Polling Station Board, provided that the visibility and hearing of the public to the scrutiny is respected;

• 3)

  Refrain from engaging in any type of proselytism, and;

• 4)

  Refrain from speaking against Electoral Authorities. Members of Polling Station Boards who do not allow or prevent scrutiny from being conducted in public manner incur criminal liability.

SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR THE SCRUTINY OF POLLING STATION BOARDS The Polling Station Boards, when conducting scrutinies in the elections regulated by this law, in addition to those already established, must observe the following special provisions:

• 1)

  When the scrutineer finds a ballot that has been voted, which contains stains or has been printed with defects, in such a way that this does not prevent qualifying the vote or the marks placed on it, he must submit it to scrutiny;

• 2)

  When votes or ballots corresponding to an elective level different from those deposited in the ballot box being scrutinized appear in a ballot box, the scrutineer must extract it and deliver it to the president of the Board, who in the presence of the other members, must keep it so that it is scrutinized at the moment the ballot box containing the ballots or votes of that elective level is opened; however, if the ballots or votes from that ballot box have already been scrutinized, this circumstance must be noted in the incident report;

• 3)

  When two (2) or more ballots are interlaced, the Scrutineer must set them aside as they were found and if, at the end of the scrutiny, the number of voters coincides with the ballots scrutinized including those that are interlaced, the scrutiny of these must proceed;

• 4)

  When a ballot does not have the ratified seal, but is signed by the president and secretary of the Polling Station Board, the "RATIFIED" seal must be stamped, scrutinized and must be counted in the corresponding elective level;

• 5)

  When a ballot only has the signature of the president or the secretary of the Polling Station Board, the scrutineer must deliver it to the president for him to keep in custody until the scrutiny of the other ballots is completed and to verify that the total of ballots scrutinized, without considering the ballot in custody, is equal to or not equal to the total number of voters. If the one kept in custody is needed for both data to match, the missing signature must be placed, scrutinized and must be counted in the corresponding level and in case it is not needed for both data to match it must be considered as null.

SCRUTINY IN THE POLLING STATION BOARD AT THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIVE LEVEL The scrutiny of votes that have been deposited in the ballot box corresponding to the Presidential elective level must be conducted in the following manner:

• 1)

  The secretary of the Board, in the presence of the other members, must proceed to record in the general balance of the presidential scrutiny count format, the number of ballots received according to the opening minutes;

• 2)

  The president of the Board, in the presence of the other members must proceed to count one by one, the unused ballots of the presidential level and the secretary must record said amount in the general balance of the presidential scrutiny count format. Immediately after, the president must proceed to tear in half the surplus ballots, place them in the corresponding bag and store them in the electoral briefcase;

• 3)

  The Scrutineer must open the ballot box and extract the first vote, showing it to the other members of the Board, verify that it complies with the requirements of the signatures and seals of the three (3) proprietary Counselors of the National Electoral Council (CNE), the signatures of the president and secretary of the Board and the ratified seal that the voted ballot must contain on its reverse, and proceed to qualify the vote and if it is valid express to which political party candidate, alliance or independent candidacy the vote corresponds or if it is blank or null, showing in all cases the vote to the other members of the Board and delivering it to the President so that the Board validates the qualification made by the scrutineer, the president stamping it with the seal of scrutinized and of valid, blank or null, as appropriate. The secretary in the vote count format must record to which candidate the valid vote corresponds or record it in the corresponding box when the vote is blank or null. In the same manner the scrutineer must continue extracting the following votes one by one, the Board following the previously described procedure. The Board must conduct a review of the votes it has qualified as null, provided that the amount annulled is greater than the margin of difference between the winning candidate and the immediate loser, confirming its qualification and in case it determines that one or more are valid, they shall also be included in the result. The president and secretary of the Board must proceed to place the valid seal on it, signing next to said seal, recording it in this way in the vote count format and in the incident report. The scrutinized votes must be placed in bundles of valid, blank and null, packing each bundle in the corresponding bag and will be stored in the electoral briefcase;

• 4)

  The secretary must proceed to record in the general balance of the vote count format the number of citizens who voted, according to the voting notebook and the number of Board members who exercised their right to vote. In the same manner, it must sum the valid votes corresponding to each political party candidate, alliance or independent candidacy, recording the total in the box of each one, in the results section of the presidential count format;

• 5)

  Next, the secretary must draw up the closing minutes, in the official format belonging to the Polling Station Board, which must contain the pre-printed data of the Department, Municipality, voting center, electoral sector and correlative number, number of Board, proceeding to transcribe from the vote count format of the presidential level to the closing minutes in the corresponding sections and boxes:

  • a)

    Start and end time of the scrutiny of the presidential elective level;

  • b)

    The total, in numbers and in words of the ballots received and those not used or surplus;

  • c)

    The total, in numbers and in words of citizens who exercised their right to vote, in the voting notebook;

  • d)

    The total, in numbers and in words of Board members who exercised their right to vote;

  • e)

    The quantity, in numbers and in words of the valid votes obtained by each of the political party candidates, alliances and independent candidacies; and, f. The total of blank votes and the total of null votes, both totals in numbers and in words;

• 6)

  The secretary must record the names, surnames and national identification document number of each one of the members of the Polling Station Board, in the box corresponding to the position for which he was appointed, even if he had served in another position, requesting each one to verify his data and proceed to sign the closing minutes;

• 7)

  After the closing minutes have been drawn up and signed, the secretary must place the transparent and security adhesive tape over the area comprising the general balance of results and the results of the scrutiny; and, 8. The Polling Station Board must extend a certified copy of the closing minutes of the presidential level to each one of the members in office of the same, of each political party, who have the responsibility of delivering it to their respective political parties, the alliances and the independent candidacies.

SCRUTINY IN THE POLLING STATION BOARD AT THE ELECTIVE LEVEL OF DEPUTIES TO THE NATIONAL CONGRESS. The scrutiny at the elective level of Deputies to the National Congress consists of tallying the mark made in favor of each of the candidates for Proprietary Deputies of the voter's preference, in each ballot. Prior to beginning the scrutiny of the elective level of Deputies to the National Congress, the president of the Board must extract from the electoral briefcase the surplus or unused ballots of said level and in the presence of the other members shall count them one by one; the secretary recording said amount in the general balance of the mark count format. Immediately after, the president shall proceed to tear in half the surplus ballots, place them in the corresponding bag and store them in the electoral briefcase. The scrutiny of the marks contained in each of the ballots deposited in the ballot box corresponding to the elective level of Deputies to the National Congress must be conducted in the following manner:

• 1)

  The secretary of the Board, in the presence of the other members, must proceed to record in the general balance of the mark count format, the number of ballots received from this level, according to the opening minutes;

• 2)

  The scrutineer must open the ballot box and extract the first ballot, showing it to the other members of the Board, verify that it complies with the requirements of the signatures and seals of the three (3) proprietary Counselors of the National Electoral Council (CNE), the signatures of the president and secretary of the Board and the ratified seal that the voted ballot must contain on its reverse, and proceed to qualify the ballot and if it is valid express one by one the marks contained in it, detailing to which Proprietary Deputy candidate it corresponds or qualifying the ballot as blank or null, showing it in all cases to the other members of the Board and must deliver it to the president so that the Board validates the qualification made by the scrutineer, the president stamping it with the seal of scrutinized and of valid, blank or null, as appropriate. The secretary in the mark count format must record one by one the marks corresponding to the Proprietary Deputy candidate. In case the ballot is null or blank, it must be recorded in the corresponding box;

• 3)

  In the same manner the scrutineer must continue extracting one by one the ballots, the Board applying the previously described procedure. The scrutinized ballots must be placed in bundles of valid, blank and null, packing each bundle in the corresponding bag and be stored in the electoral briefcase;

• 4)

  The secretary must proceed to record in the general balance of the mark count format, the number of citizens who voted, according to the voting notebook and the number of Board members who exercised their right to vote. In the same manner, sum the marks corresponding to each Proprietary Deputy candidate, recording the total in the box of each one, in the total marks section of the mark count format;

• 5)

  Next, the secretary must draw up the closing minutes, in the official format belonging to the Polling Station Board, which must contain the pre-printed data of the Department, Municipality, voting center, electoral sector and number of Board, proceeding to transcribe from the mark count format of the Deputies to the National Congress level to the closing minutes in the corresponding sections and boxes:

  • a)

    Start and end time of the scrutiny of the elective level of Deputies to the National Congress;

  • b)

    The total number of voters, in numbers, which results from adding the data recorded in the Deputies mark count format that correspond to the citizens who exercised their right to vote in the voting notebook and those of the Board members who exercised their right to vote;

  • c)

    The quantity, in numbers of the marks obtained by each of the candidates for Proprietary Deputies; and, d. The quantity in numbers of the valid, null and blank ballots;

• 6)

  The secretary must record the national identification document number of each one of the members of the Polling Station Board, in the box corresponding to the position for which he was appointed, even if he had served in another position, requesting each one to verify his data and proceed to sign the closing minutes;

• 7)

  After the closing minutes have been drawn up and signed, the secretary must place the transparent and security adhesive tape over the area that comprises the results area of the scrutiny; and, 8. The Polling Station Board must extend a certified copy of the closing minutes of the level of Deputies to the National Congress to each one of the members of the same, who have the responsibility of delivering it to their respective political parties, their internal movements, their alliances and the independent candidacies.

COUNTING IN THE POLLING STATION AT THE MUNICIPAL CORPORATION ELECTORAL LEVEL Prior to beginning the counting of votes at the Municipal Corporation electoral level, the president of the Polling Station must extract the remaining or unused ballots from that level from the electoral case, proceeding to apply the procedure used at the presidential electoral level, as provided in this law to conduct the counting and prepare the closing report of that level and extend the corresponding certified copies of the closing report. The Polling Station must review the votes it has classified as null, provided that the number of nullified votes exceeds the margin of difference between the winning candidate and the immediate loser, confirming its classification and in case it determines that any one or some are valid, they shall also be included in the result. The president and secretary of the Polling Station shall proceed to affix the valid seal by signing next to said seal, thus recording it in the vote counting form and in the incident report sheet.

DESIGNATION OF ELECTORAL BALLOTS ACCORDING TO THE ELECTORAL LEVEL For purposes of counting and recording in each closing report, a vote is called the electoral ballot used in:

• 1)

  The Presidential level;

• 2)

  Municipal Corporation; and, 3. Deputies to the National Congress in departments with single-member elections. It is called an electoral ballot and the elector expresses their will thereon by means of marks, the one used at the level of Deputies to the National Congress in multi-member elections.

CLASSIFICATION OF VOTES AT THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORAL LEVELS, MUNICIPAL CORPORATION, AND SINGLE-MEMBER DEPUTIES TO THE NATIONAL CONGRESS At the Presidential level, Municipal Corporation level, and single-member Deputies to the National Congress level, votes are classified as follows:

• 1)

  Valid vote, is one in which the elector voted only for one Presidential formula, Municipal Corporation and/or single-member Deputies to the National Congress, as applicable, within any area of the box corresponding to the party or independent candidacy; in case the vote spans more than one box, the vote shall be attributed to the candidate in whose box the greater part of it appears. For this purpose, the box to mark must contain the party emblem or independent candidacy, the photograph of the candidate, and the corresponding blank box;

• 2)

  Blank vote, is one in which the elector does not vote for any formula at any of the electoral levels or when they have placed graphic, alphabetic, numeric symbols or a combination of them, outside the boxes designated for voting, therefore they are considered as not cast; and, 3. Null vote, is one that even though emitted by the elector, cannot be attributed to any candidate, formula or slate, for not meeting the requirements to be considered as valid by the Polling Station.

NULL VOTES AT THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORAL LEVELS, MUNICIPAL CORPORATION, AND SINGLE-MEMBER DEPUTIES TO THE NATIONAL CONGRESS Votes cast at the Presidential level, Municipal Corporation level, and single-member Deputies to the National Congress level are considered null votes in the following cases:

• 1)

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

• 2)

  When the cast vote does not have printed the signatures and seals of the titular members of the National Electoral Council (CNE);

• 3)

  When the cast vote does not have the signature of the President and Secretary of the Polling Station;

• 4)

  When the elector has voted for more than one formula or slate; and, 5. When the vote spans two (2) boxes without being able to differentiate the proportionality of the mark.

CLASSIFICATION OF BALLOTS AND MARKS AT THE MULTI-MEMBER ELECTORAL LEVEL OF DEPUTIES TO THE NATIONAL CONGRESS At the multi-member electoral level of Deputies to the National Congress, ballots and marks are classified as follows:

• 1)

  Valid Electoral Ballot, is one in which the number of marks placed by the elector, whether individually or in a continuous line or stroke, does not exceed the total number of candidates to be elected for the respective department. When on an electoral ballot valid marks and null marks are counted, provided that the sum of both does not exceed the number of candidates to be elected in the respective department, the ballot is considered as valid;

• 2)

  Blank Electoral Ballot, is one in which the elector does not vote for any Deputy candidate or when they have placed graphic, alphabetic, numeric symbols or a combination of them, outside the boxes designated for marking, therefore they are considered as not marked; and, 3. Null Electoral Ballot, is one that even though it has been marked by the elector, cannot be attributed to any Deputy candidate, for not meeting the requirements to be considered as valid.

Blank ballots in the multinominal elective level of Deputies to the National Congress are considered null when:

• 1)

  The ballot contains a greater number of marks than those corresponding to the respective department. In the case of the level of Deputies to the National Congress, the nullity of one mark does not affect the other correctly marked ones as long as the total number of marks between null and valid does not exceed the number of marks allowed;

• 2)

  The ballot contains symbols, words or sentences that cover the entire ballot;

• 3)

  Ballots that are found under the same fold;

• 4)

  When the cast ballot does not have printed the signatures and seals of the titular Advisors of the National Electoral Council; and, 5. When the cast ballot does not have the signature of the president and secretary of the Voting Reception Board and the respective bar code.

The decisions of the Voting Reception Boards are adopted by simple majority of their members, except for the extension of voting for one hour, which must be by unanimous consent.

Once the scrutiny is concluded at the Presidential level, the Voting Reception Board in full, through the formats and in application of the technical, transparent and secure procedures previously established by the National Electoral Council (CNE), must carry out the simultaneous transmission of the results of this elective level immediately to the National Electoral Council (CNE), to the political parties, to alliances and to the independent candidacies participating in the process. For this purpose, the transmission system that is adopted must have direct interconnection with the server of each of the participating political parties, and the observation rooms and the national and international media outlets, and must be awarded at least 4 months before the celebration of the electoral process. Non-compliance with the implementation of the system referred to in this article will hold the authorities of the National Electoral Council (CNE) responsible for breach of the Law.

The National Electoral Council (CNE), on election day, no later than three hours after voting has closed, in a public session of the Plenary of Advisors, must begin the dissemination of preliminary results of the scrutinies of the Voting Reception Boards, and continue the dissemination in a periodic manner. For these purposes, the National Electoral Council (CNE), by consensus, and six months before the general elections, must approve the means and guidelines regarding the dissemination of preliminary results. In the dissemination of preliminary results at the presidential level, the National Electoral Council (CNE) must clearly express what percentage of records and votes it is disseminating and must warn about the pending percentage to be disseminated by each department, in numerical and graphic form. The design of the process of electronic dissemination of electoral results must include mechanisms to guarantee accuracy and security. Dissemination must be carried out without any restriction and in a continuous and periodic manner from the moment the National Electoral Council (CNE) begins it, except in case of force majeure.

The results of the closing records, transmitted by the Voting Reception Board and disseminated on election day, after the official closing of the Voting Reception Boards, by the National Electoral Council (CNE), are preliminary in nature and only serve the function of informing citizens about the partial results of the voting.

Causes that make it impossible to conduct an election or scrutiny. Only cases of fortuitous event or force majeure are considered valid causes for suspending the practice of an election or scrutiny. In any of those cases, new elections must be called in the place or places where the process was not carried out or concluded, within a period not exceeding ten (10) calendar days, counted from the date on which voting should have taken place.

Computer security. The National Electoral Council (CNE) must guarantee that voting and scrutinies reflect the real, free and spontaneous will that citizens express through their direct and secret vote, for which it must implement measures based on the highest standards of computer security in all areas of the process. The National Electoral Council (CNE), through the Department of Systems and Technological Strategies, headed by three co-directors, must design and implement systems related to the computation, transmission and disclosure of results, including simulations and other processes, incorporating appropriate security mechanisms and practices. Said Department must make recommendations for the acquisition of the necessary technological infrastructure; likewise, it is responsible for developing computer security standards and protocols that, for their application, are duly approved by unanimous decision of the members of the National Electoral Council (CNE). To guarantee the efficiency of the systems implemented and the security mechanisms included in them, the National Electoral Council (CNE) may request the respective certification through specific audits, internal or external, which must be duly contracted by unanimous decision of the members of the National Electoral Council (CNE). Computer systems cannot be modified; and if a modification is necessary, it is required that the National Electoral Council (CNE) authorize each Co-director, who must have a special access code or key; in any case, all three access keys or codes are necessary to carry out said modification.

General scrutiny. General Scrutiny consists of the analysis, verification and sum of the results contained in the closing report of each Voting Receiving Board. When the closing report presents inconsistencies with the other Result Certifications from the same Voting Receiving Board, the result recorded in the majority of the Certifications issued to the Political Parties, Alliances and Independent Candidacies, as applicable, shall prevail. The National Electoral Council (CNE) may, when it deems appropriate, prior to issuing the final declaration of elections, verify in the specific case, the scrutinies conducted by the other electoral bodies. General Scrutiny must be conducted by the National Electoral Council (CNE), and may be assisted by the participating Political Parties.

Deadline and publication for the declaration of general elections. The National Electoral Council (CNE) must make the declaration of elections no later than thirty (30) calendar days after the elections have been held and order its publication the next day in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta", notifying the State Powers and the Political organizations that participated in the general elections. The communication must be made through complete certification of the general scrutiny report; each elected citizen must be issued their respective credential.

Declaration of election of the presidential formula. For the election of President and Vice Presidents of the Republic, the formula of the Political Party, Alliance, Candidacy or Movement, as applicable, that has achieved a simple majority of votes must be declared elected.

Declaration of Election of Deputies to the National Congress. The declaration of election of Deputies to the National Congress must be made by applying the following procedure:

• 1)

  In each political party, alliance, or independent candidacy, the order of precedence must be established in accordance with the marks obtained by each candidate individually, with the one who obtained the greatest number of marks occupying the first place on the corresponding ballot, and so successively in descending order until completing the number of positions;

• 2)

  The total valid marks in each political party, alliance, or independent candidacy are obtained by adding the marks obtained by each of its candidates;

• 3)

  The departmental electoral quotient is the result of dividing the total valid marks obtained by all political parties, alliances, or independent candidacies, by the number of positions to be elected;

• 4)

  Each political party, alliance, or independent candidacy has the right to as many Deputies per Department as departmental electoral quotients fit within the sum of marks that said participant has obtained in the department in question; 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 Principal Deputy and their respective Alternate shall be declared elected, the one corresponding to the ordered list of each political party, alliance, or independent candidacy that has achieved the greatest departmental electoral remainder; and so successively, in descending order of remainders, until completing the number of Deputies to be elected; and, 5) In departments in which only one Principal Deputy and their Alternate must be elected, the election must be declared by simple majority.

Declaration of Election of Deputies to PARLACEN. For the composition of the ballot of candidates for Principal Deputies and their respective alternates to the Central American Parliament, the voting obtained at the national level in the presidential elective level of each political party must be taken as a basis, and the same procedure that this Law establishes for the composition of the ballot of deputies to the National Congress is established, in accordance with the presidential electoral quotient, and must be composed in accordance with the votes obtained. For a political party to obtain a deputy to the Central American Parliament, it must obtain a minimum number of votes equal to the presidential electoral quotient. Once the general elections are verified, the National Electoral Council (CNE) shall establish the distribution of the twenty (20) principal candidates and their respective alternates and their corresponding order of precedence for the declaration of election.

Declaration of Election of Members of Municipal Corporations in General Elections. For the declaration of election of members of Municipal Corporations, the following procedure must be followed:

• 1)

  To obtain the municipal electoral quotient, the total valid votes cast in favor of each party in the Municipality must be divided by the total number of members of the Municipal Corporation that must be elected, excluding the Vice Mayor;

• 2)

  The Mayor and Municipal Vice Mayor shall be declared elected, the citizens nominated by each political party, alliance, independent candidacy or participating movement in the case in question, who have obtained the majority of votes;

• 3)

  The first City Council Member shall be declared elected, the citizen who heads the slate for the political party, alliance, independent candidacy or participating movement in the case in question, that has the majority of votes after subtracting the municipal electoral quotient with which the mayor and vice mayor were declared elected, and the rest of the city council members shall be assigned by applying the respective municipal quotient to each political party, alliance or independent candidacy; and, 4. If upon applying the municipal quotient referred to in the preceding numeral of this article, the total number of city council members that must be elected for each municipality is not completed, the candidate for city council member who corresponds from the list of the political party, alliance, independent candidacy or participating movement in the case in question 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 City Council Members to be elected.

Tie in Elections. In case of a tie in the votes or marks obtained, electoral quotient or vote remainders, by two or more movements or candidates at any elective level, the National Electoral Council (CNE) must resolve the tie in the following manner: 1) Total recount of votes through special scrutiny at the elective level in which the tie occurred; and 2) If the tie persists, the National Electoral Council (CNE) must order the election to be repeated within the twenty (20) calendar days following the declaration of the tie, only among the tied candidates.

Separate Ballot and Ballot Box. The primary and general elections referred to in this law must be conducted by means of a separate ballot and ballot box for each elective level.

For each electoral process the National Electoral Council (CNE) in accordance with what is established in the Law must order the design and printing of the necessary documentation in the quantity, forms and with the security provisions that are required. The National Electoral Council (CNE) shall regulate in the respective Regulation everything related to said form, design and printing. The documents of the electoral processes have the character of public documents.

PRESENCE OF DELEGATES OR OBSERVERS OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN PUBLIC SCRUTINY The observer delegates of the political parties assigned to the Vote Receiving Boards, national and international observers, the media and citizens may be present in the public scrutiny ensuring the order and good conduct required for the security and transparency thereof; and complying with the measures established in this law. The National Electoral Council (CNE) shall regulate public scrutinies. TITLE IX ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS FOR ELECTORAL CLAIMS CHAPTER I ACTIONS BEFORE THE NATIONAL ELECTORAL COUNCIL

PROCEDURAL LEGITIMACY Any citizen who proves a legitimate interest may present at any time, before the National Electoral Council (CNE), complaints or actions against: 1. The actions of the Departmental Electoral Councils and Municipal Electoral Councils, Vote Receiving Boards, and any employee or official of electoral organisms regulated in this law. 2. Public servants, and citizens who violate this law. Against the resolutions or administrative decisions of the National Electoral Council (CNE), the remedies established in the Electoral Procedural Law may be filed with respect to the competencies of the Electoral Justice Court (TJE) as the highest authority in electoral justice matters, without prejudice to the provisions of the Law on Constitutional Justice.

SPECIAL REVIEWS AND RECOUNTS The National Electoral Council (CNE) must hear ex officio or at the request of a party, and authorize special reviews and recounts in the following cases: 1. If there is no coincidence of the figures between the number of votes cast and the number of votes recorded in the minutes of the Vote Receiving Board that is requested, 2. If there has been an error in the accounting of votes or marks awarded to each political Party, Alliance, Independent Candidacy, movement as the case may be; 3. If the number of voting citizens who signed the voting record is greater or less than that recorded in the minutes.

PROCEDURE FOR REVIEW AND RECOUNT When the action is brought at the request of a party, The National Electoral Council (CNE) must admit it if there is a rational indication of error or abuse committed based on the evidence presented, it shall order the formation of a Special Verification and Recount Board, appointing its members and setting a hearing to be held within three (3) days following the notification of the respective resolution, which may be attended by the interested parties in person or through their representatives, who must appear at the same on the date and time set with the evidentiary means of the alleged cause. Said hearing must be held with those who attend the act and in it the ballot boxes of the Boards indicated in the review filing shall be opened. The recount of votes shall be conducted by the Special Verification and Recount Boards appointed by the National Electoral Council, so that the results are verified, which must be recorded in a special minutes that must be signed by the members of the Special Board. The special verification and recount boards shall be composed in the same manner as the vote receiving boards.

Results and effects of the special scrutiny. If the Special Verification and Recount Board finds that the results issued by the Vote Receiving Boards are correct and accurate, the original closing report shall be deemed valid. If it finds inaccuracy, a special report must be drawn up containing the correct results, said report shall replace the one drawn up by the Vote Receiving Boards in question. Against the actions of the Special Verification and Recount Board, no further appeal is available without prejudice to the filing of a motion for reconsideration before the National Electoral Council (CNE) and appeal before the Electoral Justice Court (TJE) in case of violation of a right. All of the foregoing without prejudice to the imposition of civil, administrative or criminal liability that may be imposed against members of the Vote Receiving Boards before the competent courts. CHAPTER II ACTION FOR NULLITY OF ACTS AND SCRUTINIES OF THE VOTE RECEIVING BOARDS

ACTION FOR NULLITY OF ACTS EXECUTED BY THE VOTE RECEIVING BOARD An action for administrative nullity may be filed before the National Electoral Council (CNE) against acts executed by the Vote Receiving Boards, in the following cases:

• 1)

  Installation of the Vote Receiving Board in a location different from that pre-established or authorized by the National Electoral Council (CNE);

• 2)

  Installation of the Vote Receiving Board without the quorum required by Law;

• 3)

  Having improperly prevented voters from exercising the right to vote;

• 4)

  Violation of the secrecy of the vote;

• 5)

  Permitting citizens not eligible to exercise the right to vote at that Vote Receiving Board or, if eligible, allowing them to vote without the documentation required by Law;

• 6)

  Using documents, materials and equipment not authorized by the National Electoral Council; and, 7. For violation of the security measures of electoral process materials.

ACTION FOR ADMINISTRATIVE NULLITY OF SCRUTINIES CONDUCTED BY THE VOTE RECEIVING BOARDS An action for administrative nullity may be filed before the National Electoral Council (CNE) against scrutinies conducted by the Vote Receiving Board, in the following cases:

• 1)

  That the scrutiny was conducted in a location different from that determined by the National Electoral Council (CNE) for the Vote Receiving Board;

• 2)

  Falsifying or altering the closing report that contains the results of the scrutiny conducted by the Vote Receiving Board;

• 3)

  Using documents, materials and equipment not authorized by the National Electoral Council (CNE); and, 4. For violation of the security measures of electoral process materials.

REQUIREMENTS FOR FILING ACTIONS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE NULLITY Every action for administrative nullity must be presented in writing before the National Electoral Council (CNE) specifying the facts on which it is based and the legal provisions violated, presenting the corresponding evidence and appointing an Attorney, without prejudice to the Council conducting such investigations as it deems necessary. Actions for administrative nullity must be filed within five (5) calendar days following the day on which the elections were held.

INADMISSIBILITY OF ACTIONS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE NULLITY Actions for administrative nullity filed before the National Electoral Council (CNE) that are not based on the grounds established by this Law are not admissible and must be dismissed outright and without further appeal. Political parties, their internal movements, their alliances, candidates or independent candidacies or citizens, as the case may be, cannot invoke in their favor any action, causes of nullity, facts or circumstances that they themselves have maliciously provoked.

Evidence for purposes of proof shall be admissible as such: electoral documents designated in this Law and all those that have probative effect in accordance with electoral procedural legislation and the resolutions issued by the Electoral Justice Tribunal (TJE) on the matter.

PROCEDURE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE NULLITY ACTIONS The National Electoral Council (CNE) must admit administrative nullity actions regulated in this Law if the established grounds for their admission are invoked. These must set a hearing to be held within three (3) calendar days following notification of their admission so that the petitioner or petitioners may appear with the respective evidence, determining in the same hearing its admission and presentation. If the proposed and admitted evidence is not completely presented during the hearing, the hearing must be suspended to continue until completion. Once the hearing is concluded, the National Electoral Council (CNE) must rule within the following five (5) calendar days and if declared admissible must order the repetition of the election in question. Administrative nullities decreed by the National Electoral Council (CNE) only affect the voting or election for which the administrative nullity action was specifically invoked.

RESTRICTION ON DECLARATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE NULLITY Administrative nullity of votes or counts cannot be declared at the level of the Polling Station or Polling Stations, Municipality or Department, if the results of the voting or the number of voters who were unable to exercise their right to vote do not affect the validity of the votes cast in the rest of the Municipality, the Department or the Republic, and consequently do not have a decisive impact on the difference for the award of any candidacy or elected office.

REPETITION OF THE ELECTION If the National Electoral Council (CNE) decrees an administrative nullity admissible, it must order the repetition of the election at the Polling Station of the Municipality or Department within ten (10) days following notification of the resolution in which said nullity was declared admissible.

RESOLUTIONS ON ADMINISTRATIVE NULLITIES Against resolutions issued by the National Electoral Council (CNE) in which administrative nullity actions established in this Law are resolved, no appeal shall lie, without prejudice to what is established in the Electoral Procedural Law regarding the competencies of the Electoral Justice Tribunal (TJE) as the highest authority in electoral justice matters, and what is provided in the Law on Constitutional Justice.

PROCEDURES FOR THE APPLICATION OF SANCTIONS For the application of administrative and pecuniary sanctions, the National Electoral Council (CNE) shall summon the interested parties to a hearing, which must be held within five (5) business days, so that they may appear with the evidence they deem relevant to support their claims. If there were evidence to be presented, a period of eight (8) business days shall be set for the execution thereof. The National Electoral Council (CNE) shall resolve within three (3) business days following the last notification. Against these resolutions, a motion for reconsideration may be filed before the National Electoral Council (CNE), at the time of notification or the following business day; and an appeal may be filed before the Electoral Justice Court (TJE) within three (3) business days following the notification that denies the Motion for Reconsideration, without prejudice to the provisions of the Law on Constitutional Justice. CHAPTER III COMPLAINTS

COMPLAINTS Any citizen who proves their legitimate interest may file complaints against the actions of officials or employees of electoral bodies, against the actions and decisions of political parties, alliances, independent candidacies, movements, candidates for elective office and any other authority or natural or legal person before the National Electoral Council (CNE), as applicable for the violations that they consider have been committed in the application of the Electoral Law. ARTICLE 308.- PROCEDURE IN THE EXERCISE OF ACTION REGARDING COMPLAINTS The National Electoral Council (CNE), once the petition is admitted, must order the summoning and notification of the defendant, setting a hearing, which must be held within three (3) days following the date of presentation of the complaint, ordering them to appear with the documents relating to the substance thereof. Once the hearing is verified, the National Electoral Council (CNE) must issue, within three (3) days following, the corresponding resolution. Against these resolutions, a motion for reconsideration may be filed before the National Electoral Council (CNE), at the time of notification or the following business day; and an appeal may be filed before the Electoral Justice Court (TJE) within 3 business days following the notification that denies the Motion for Reconsideration.

VACANCY AFTER VOTING If vacancies occur in the period between voting and the date on which the Declaration of the corresponding elections becomes final, the following procedure shall be followed: 1. If the vacancy is that of the elected president, the respective political party must propose to the National Electoral Council (CNE) the substitute from the list of the three (3) elected presidential designees and the substitute for the vacant designation. 2. If the vacancy is that of a principal deputy, the position must be occupied by the respective alternate and the latter in turn must be replaced by the person determined by the party authority, and who complies with what is established in article 198 numeral 5 of the Constitution of the Republic. 3. If the vacancy is that of the Mayor, the vacancy must be occupied by the Vice-Mayor and the latter in turn must be replaced by the person determined by the party authority. 4. In the case of a Councilor, their replacement must be designated by the party authority. In case of resignation, disqualification or death of a deputy to the National Congress, member of the municipal corporation or deputy to the Central American parliament, the party authority must make the corresponding replacement.

CRIMES COMMITTED IN ELECTIONS Ordinary justice must hear cases involving crimes committed in elections and criminal law must classify them and impose the corresponding penalties.

EFFECTS OF JUDICIAL ACTIONS TO DISQUALIFY CANDIDATES Judicial actions against any candidate for elective office from the date of their registration until the Declaration of the respective elections are made final, shall have no disqualifying effect unless such disqualification is the principal object of the claim and a final condemning sentence to that effect is rendered or they result from the commission of a crime or the violation of the Constitution of the Republic. Neither shall said actions have effect against candidates if the opposition to their registration has not been previously exhausted.

PUBLIC DOCUMENTS The documents of the National Electoral Council (CNE), as well as those that it determines by regulation, are public. Any citizen may request certification or take note of them. The foregoing without prejudice to the obligation of the National Electoral Council (CNE) to comply with its obligations established in the Law on Access to Public Information.

Interpret numeral 7 of article 199 of the Constitution of the Republic in the sense that said numeral is only applicable to public officials and employees who administer economic resources in accordance with the budget of the Institution in which they work, and to those to whom the law that regulates the institution in which they serve expressly designates said incompatibility.

Except those who hold teaching positions and health assistance positions. TITLE X TRANSITORY AND FINAL PROVISIONS CHAPTER I TRANSITORY PROVISIONS

OF THE PERSONNEL OF THE INSTITUTION The National Electoral Council (CNE) is empowered to, in fulfillment of its purpose, attributions and competencies, execute the restructuring of employees and officials within a period of six (6) months, counted from the date this law enters into force, complying with labor rights.

ADAPTATION OF THE STATUTES OF POLITICAL PARTIES TO THIS LAW. Within a period of one (1) year counted from the date this law enters into force, political parties must adapt their Declaration of Principles, Statutes and Political Action Programs to what is established in this law.

COLLABORATION OF STATE INSTITUTIONS AND MEDIA WITH THE NATIONAL ELECTORAL COUNCIL. The Public Powers, their departments and all institutions of the State, including Municipalities, must collaborate with the National Electoral Council (CNE) to carry out its functions and the development of Processes free of charge. The media, radio, print and television, public and private, must collaborate in a special manner with the National Electoral Council (CNE), within the seventy-two (72) hours before the holding of elections, in order to guide the

citizenry toward their best participation in the electoral process.

POSTAL AND TELEPHONE FRANCHISE The National Electoral Council (CNE) enjoys postal, telegraph, telex, fax, telephone line, direct line, 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 primary and general elections.

TRANSPORTATION, SURVEILLANCE AND CUSTODY The National Electoral Council (CNE) is responsible for the custody, transportation and surveillance of electoral material. For this purpose, the President of the Republic must place the Armed Forces at its disposal one month before the elections, until their declaration. The National Electoral Council (CNE) for the purposes of the preceding paragraph must appoint Electoral Custodians, duly accredited with specific instructions and shall perform their functions in coordination with the Armed Forces. These custodians must be appointed on a rotating basis, at the proposal of the political parties that make up the Vote Receiving Boards.

MOTOR VEHICLES OF STATE AGENCIES The President of the Republic, Secretaries of State, Presidents and Managers of decentralized and deconcentrated institutions of the State and Municipal Mayors, must order all their agencies that all motor vehicles of their agencies must be at the disposal of the National Electoral Council (CNE) when it so requires for electoral processes for a period of seventy-two (72) hours before and seventy-two (72) hours after the elections. If the circulation of one or more motor vehicles is needed in the electoral period in which they are already at the disposal of the National Electoral Council (CNE), authorization for circulation must be requested, indicating the reason or need for their use. The following are exempt from this provision: motor vehicles for emergency services of the National Electrical Energy Company (ENEE), National Autonomous Water and Sewage Service (SANAA), Heroic and Meritorious Fire Department, Honduran Social Security Institute (IHSS), Honduran Telecommunications Company (HONDUTEL), Armed Forces and National Police. The National Police must supervise compliance with this provision.

METHOD FOR CALCULATING PUBLIC FINANCING FOR THE 2021 ELECTORAL PROCESS AND FOLLOWING ELECTORAL PERIODS For the payment of public financing in the General Elections Process of 2017, the National Electoral Council (CNE) must take the value of each vote at the presidential level paid in the 2017 electoral process, and apply it only to the total number of votes obtained by each political party at the presidential electoral level. For electoral periods after 2021, the National Electoral Council (CNE) shall determine the value of votes for the financing of the parties.

ACTION PROTOCOLS AND BIOSECURITY FOR THE CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS The National Electoral Council (CNE), within a period of 30 days from the effective date of this Law, must establish through consensus an Action Protocol and Biosecurity that, without sacrificing civil and political rights, safeguards the right to health. Polling centers and citizens must be provided with the protective materials and supplies that are necessary. The Action Protocol and Biosecurity must consider, as appropriate:

• a)

  The guidelines issued by the Electoral Advisory and Promotion Center (CAPEL), a specialized program of the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights (IIDH), in its capacity as Executive Secretariat of the Inter-American Union of Electoral Organizations (UNIORE), of the Association of Electoral Organizations of Central America and the Caribbean; and of the Association of Electoral Organizations of South America, and;

• b)

  The Guide for Organizing Elections in Times of Pandemic issued by the Technical Electoral Division of the OAS (DECO).

REGARDING THE ELECTRONIC IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM FOR DIGITAL FINGERPRINTS The software of the electronic identification system for digital fingerprints that the National Electoral Council (CNE) must acquire for the celebration of general elections in the year 2021 should preferably block the citizen who has been verified in said system at the moment of exercising the right to vote so that he cannot exercise it again.

For the purposes of the 2021 general elections, the residential update begins from the entry into force of this law and until the publication of the final electoral census.

For the purposes of registration of electoral slates to participate in the 2021 general elections of political parties that did not participate in the 2021 primary elections, for this one time only, they are permitted to register slates in at least one hundred fifty (150) municipalities and ten (10) departments.

It is the obligation of the State to guarantee the safe and free exercise of the right to vote, and must create the necessary mechanisms aimed at preventing acts of violence or intimidation that may generate fear in the population for the exercise of this right, as well as special actions of investigation and coordination between the Public Ministry (MP) and the National Police to establish criminal responsibility for the crime that corresponds according to the Penal Code. The National Electoral Council (CNE) must implement special mechanisms so that persons who are being subjected to intimidation to prevent the exercise of the right to vote can exercise it safely. CHAPTER II FINAL PROVISIONS

EDITIONS OF THE LAW The National Electoral Council (CNE) must authorize the necessary editions of this law, and, additionally, in each edition it must make an annex with the literal transcription of the constitutional articles and those contained in other laws that have a direct relationship with this law.

This law repeals the Electoral Law and Political Organizations, contained in Legislative Decree No. 44-2004 dated April 1, 2004, and published in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta", Edition No. 30,390, dated May 15, 2004, and all its amendments. Legislative Decree No. 71-2019, dated August 15, 2019, published in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta" Edition No. 35,027, dated August 20, 2019, containing the Special Law for the Selection and Appointment of Electoral Authorities, is partially repealed. Powers, Competencies and Prohibitions, with respect to the National Electoral Council (CNE), in all those articles that regulate aspects that conflict with or have been incorporated in this law. Likewise, all laws, regulations and provisions that are contrary to this law are repealed.

This Law enters into force as of the day of its publication in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta". Given in the city of Tegucigalpa, municipality of the Central District, in the Session held by the National Congress in Virtual manner, on the twenty-fifth day of the month of May of two thousand twenty-one. MAURICIO OLIVA HERRERA PRESIDENT JOSÉ TOMÁS ZAMBRANO MOLINA SECRETARY ROSSEL RENÁN INESTROZA MARTÍNEZ SECRETARY To the Executive Power. Therefore: Let it be executed. Tegucigalpa, M.D.C., May 26, 2021. JUAN ORLANDO HERNÁNDEZ ALVARADO PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC THE SECRETARY OF STATE IN THE DEPARTMENTS OF GOVERNANCE, JUSTICE AND DECENTRALIZATION HECTOR LEONEL AYALA ALVARENGA