It seems that the National Party values efficient data collection. That’s why they’ve launched a raffle for 25 – 8GB tablet computers to the thousands of party  voting table coordinators who get their voting tally sheet copies into the party offices on time.

We don’t allege that this represents any kind of election violation. We simply present it to give a little flavor to the back story of the election.

–HSN Election Team

The following is the text from the memo sent to National Party Activists
(Translation by JW for the HSN/AGJ Montoring Team)

“Grand Raffle for 25 Tablets of 8GB

Dear Voting Table Members and Alternates of our Grand National Party:

Thanks for your committed support in this electoral season. Thank you for your great effort and work to verify and care for our party’s votes and vote tally registers throughout the election until the last moment.

We want to inform that all of you will be participating in the raffle for 25 tablets (photo attached)  that will take place on the 26^th of November at 11 in the morning.

Only National Party voting table members and alternates will participate in this raffle, and the copies of the vote tally registers should be sent in to the party Communications Office before dawn on November 25, at the latest.

Make sure to pressure the Voting Center Coordinators and the others in charge so ensure that these registers are sent at the correct time to the party Communications Office and you can participate and have the opportunity to win this precious gift.

This gift is sponsored by the Grand Leaders of our party: Dr Roberto Gamez (Beto) and Jhony Handal (Coyote).

The Honduran Government has announced a one-hour extension in today’s voting, in accordance with Honduran law. Polling will end at 5 pm. Anyone in line at that time will be able to vote, no matter how long it takes.

COFADEH has reported an alarming incident that occurred this morning in the municipality of El Paraiso, in the department of Copán. Some 50 people who were designated as the representatives at the voting tables were surrounded in their hotel by over 100 armed men, who threatened to burn down the hotel if they reported to the tables.

More updates to follow as a team from the Honduras Solidarity Network is on the way to investigate.

Source (in Spanish):  Defensores en Linea

A HSN team in the Neighbourhood Travesía report that ‘Cristobal Castro Castro’, a deceased man was on the voting registry [In photo with an ‘X’ by his picture].

This is a common issue in Honduras. El Heraldo reported early today that dead people appeared on voting lists in Siguatepeque and Danli.

This clip was posted by Honduras Libre and Democratica and includes a video of a Member of MER [Voting table] reporting that he is a representative of the National Party but his credentials indicate that he represents the Alianza Patriotica [Patriotic Alliance] party. Is this a potential case of a smaller party selling voting table representation to the National Party?

Members of the Young Citizens’ Platform of the Study Center for Democracy – CESPAD – are denouncing verbal aggression and intimidation they have been subjected to by National Party activists, who have tried to manipulate the polling stations in places where they are conducting electoral observation.

The first complaint was made by Carlos Matute , who reported that in the Clara Barton preschool center in the city of La Ceiba , several recognized National Party activists approached the observers, saying : “Do you know where you’re standing? You don’t even know what area you’re in. I would think twice about being here .”

This statement was made to Carlos Matute, an observer from CESPAD who was officially accredited by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), who also added, “While they were saying this to us, the former candidate for the municipality of La Ceiba , who is part Miguel Pastor’s movement, of the National Party, kept his hand on my shoulder, squeezing very hard. ”

Matute said the intimidation occurred because in the morning , a complaint was made because one of the urns in this polling place contained one hundred ballots which had already been marked with their votes. The observers were quick to report what was happening, while the urns in question were confiscated. This situation greatly disturbed the accused, who then made intimidating statements towards the observers of the electoral process.

In Tegucigalpa , observers in the Mayangle neighborhood are subject to intimidation

In the Renacimiento high school, one of the voting centers located in the Mayangle neighborhood of Tegucigalpa, Cintya Raquel Fiallos Palencia, one of the CESPAD observers, has denounced the constant intimidation by members of the National Party, who are in a tent distributing food to all the members of the voting table at this center.

“They are pointing at us and questioning our presence here. It is an act of intimidation, which should not happen, especially when you’re talking about making these elections transparent, ” said Fiallos , who is part of the group of unofficial observers as part of the Citizen Platform of CESPAD , and who is subject to legal restrictions as an observer, but can observe from a distance.

“Even so, they want us to leave, and to leave empty all of the perimeter. They’re even taking photos of me,” added Fiallos , who said she felt intimidated by being constantly pointed out and by the appeals that she should leave the voting center.

Some short lines at the polling stations. Partido Nacional and Partido Libre have tents set up outside of the voting centre.

Some of the polling stations members (MER) are not carrying their badges.

Matute explicó que la intimidación de debió a que en horas de la mañana, trascendió la denuncia de que en ese centro de votación una de las urnas tenía en su interior unos cien votos marcados. Las y los observadores se apresuraron a denunciar lo que estaba ocurriendo, mientras las urnas en cuestión fueron decomisadas. Esa situación incomodó sobremanera a los denunciados, quienes exteriorizaron después, frases intimidatorias en contra de quienes observan el desarrollo de las elecciones.

Voting at two voting centres [Esc. Normal Mixta & Centro Juventud Hondureña] is going very slowly. HSN team reports that it takes between 5-6 minutes/person to vote.

Set up in both centres was chaotic and people were not sure what they were doing. The voting centres opened late.