Tegucigalpa, Honduras
The Special Commission of the National Congress will conclude the selection process of candidates to the National Electoral Council (CNE) and the Electoral Justice Tribunal (TJE), by requesting reports from the Public Ministry (MP) and the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) to purge the list of self-applicants.
The decision marks the entry of the process into a more strict inspection phase, after it emerged that some candidates could be linked to legal processes or maintain active litigation with the State, a key aspect in the suitability evaluation.
The objective, according to the commission, is to identify possible conflicts of interest, pending accounts with justice or legal situations that compromise the independence of those who aspire to direct the main electoral bodies of the country.
Representative Erika Urtecho, a member of the commission, confirmed that a detailed list of candidates with ongoing legal processes has already been requested from the PGR. “We want to know who has these types of situations to analyze them responsibly,” he explained.
However, the information sent by the MP and the PGR will not imply automatic exclusions.
Each case will be evaluated in a technical and legal manner by the commissioners, who must differentiate between legitimate claims and possible ethical or legal inabilities.
“You have to look at each case: if you are a plaintiff, if you are being sued, and if that lawsuit is justified or not,” added Urtecho, emphasizing that the analysis will be individualized and not general.
The final decision on the suitability of each candidate will be made by internal vote within the legislative commission, which anticipates a deliberative process in which both legal criteria and considerations of good repute will weigh.
Added to this filter are other requirements, such as toxicological and psychometric tests, mandatory especially for those aspiring to the FJT. These evaluations have influenced the extension of the public hearing calendar.
“That was one of the reasons why the hearings were extended to Tuesday and Wednesday; we must wait for the results of these tests,” said the congresswoman.
The Special Commission plans to send to the plenary session of the National Congress of Honduras a final list of 18 candidates, three for each position available in the CNE and the TJE.
The final election will require a qualified majority of 86 votes, a threshold that will force political consensus in a key process for the country’s electoral institutions.
