The poll stations are set up around the city and the political party banners are flying; the excitement of a democratic election is in the air. On November 29^thHonduras will hold its presidential elections, democracy will be restored, and the political crisis will be put in the history books…

This is what the current illegal regime wants both the people of Honduras and the world to believe, and unless we stop turning our heads to the real situation here, this will become the accepted reality. Being here in the capital of Honduras just days before the election, I can say with confidence that this is far from reality. Let’s take a look at the conditions here in Honduras leading up to the so called free and fair elections.

Freedom of Speech and Access to Information

The media, as we all know, plays a vital role in the electoral process in any democratic election in the 21^st century. The majority of people in any society receive most of their information through the media, and it is therefore crucial that people have access to all forms of media, from all ends of the ideological spectrum and from all sectors of society. Unfortunately, the five largest media networks in Honduras are controlled by the same group of rich elites, a group undoubtedly in support of the current de facto regime.

There are of course alternative media sources, but the options are becoming limited. Channel 36, a station that his been critical of the de facto regime from the start has experienced unabated harassment and threats to the point that they have now been forced to shut down completely. Without Channel 36 the only other nation-wide alternative news source that the people can turn to is Radio Globo, a station that was actually raided and shut down by the military for one month. If you tune in to this station now be prepared to experience periodic breaks in coverage, as the government has been doing everything possible to block their transmissions, forcing the station to set up alternative transmitters in secret locations across the country. Journalists, or any one else attempting to disseminate information critical of the de facto regime or of the elections, have to seriously consider their safety and well-being before engaging in such acts. In general, the conditions leading up to these so called free and fair elections can be considered a state of fear.

State of Fear

Since the beginning of the coup until now human rights organizations have linked 30 deaths directly with police/military repression, and these are only the cases where eyewitnesses have come forward. Just two nights ago the body of a retired teacher showed up after being taken by the police two days before – his body was found in the neighborhood where General Vasquez, the commander of the military, resides. Hundreds more people, who are acting in peaceful resistance or renouncing the upcoming elections have been harassed, beaten, threatened, and arbitrarily detained. As of right now at least 121 people who have openly boycotted the elections have been charged with sedition, finding themselves detained and put through a corrupt judiciary where it seems as though the key has been thrown away. The absurdity of the upcoming elections is apparent in the fact that these very military forces that have carried out daily systematic human rights abuses have been charged with the duty of securing these elections. One method they have employed in order to carry out this task is to send ultimatums to every mayor of the various municipalities across the country. The mayors received letters from the military leadership saying that they must hand over the names and addresses of all activists who are trying to stir up discontent with the de facto regime and the elections, and that if they did not cooperate they would be “visited” by military forces. This state of order and democracy that the regime here is trying to portray leading up to the elections can be seen in stark contradiction to the “legal” actions they are taking. Decree PCM-M-030-2009 has been passed which puts Honduras in a nationwide “State of Emergency” on Election Day. Despite all of this, the powers that be have the audacity to proclaim that the upcoming elections will be legitimate.

Legitimacy

The U.S. government at one point attempted to take a partial stand against what happened here in Honduras, but any hope of a new U.S. policy in Latin America was crushed when they stated that they would recognize the results of the upcoming elections. In order to ensure the transparency and fairness of these elections the U.S. has sent teams from the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute. For those that are not familiar with the IRI, they are an organization linked with the illegal ousting of Jean-Bertrand Aristide in Haiti in 2004, and are known to have publicly supported the 2002 coup attempt in Venezuela. This is the foreign “impartial” presence that will be in the country to oversee the elections.

The Carter Institute, the United Nations, and the European Union have all made the decision to not take part. Most of Latin America, save for several U.S. right wing allies like Columbia and Panama, have officially declared that they will not recognize any elections run under an illegal regime.

When considering the recognition of these elections from within Honduras the numbers are even more telling. Thus far more than one-hundred party members all along the ideological spectrum have renounced the elections and withdrawn their candidacy. This includes one presidential candidate from an independent party and one vice-presidential candidate from a leading party. As for the voters themselves, it is estimated that some 4.6 million people are eligible to vote. Given the historically constant rising rate of abstention in Honduras, combined with the current political crisis, it is estimated that over 60% of the population will abstain from voting. Can you call elections democratic when a minority of the people are involved?

Democracy?

The recognition of these elections both here in Honduras and internationally will set a dangerous precedent as to what we may define as “democracy”. Try as they may, the de facto regime here cannot reverse the last five months of brutal repression and human rights abuses that they have systematically carried out.

The international community must stand in solidarity with the people of

Honduras

and not recognize these elections. This is not just a struggle for Hondurans, but for the people of this world. For those internationals reading this, spread the word, contact your government, and make sure that they take the necessary steps to protect the sanctity of democracy.