Dominican Republic calls for prudence and safeguarding the integrity of the electoral process in Honduras

Santo Domingo.-Dominican Republic participated this Monday in the extraordinary session of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) that the country had requested to provide information on the elections in Honduras, held on November 30. In this meeting, Foreign Minister Roberto Álvarez called for institutional prudence and to safeguard the integrity of the electoral materials of the Honduran process and for the security forces to continue fulfilling their constitutional mandate to support the National Electoral Council of that country.

In this meeting, Chancellor Álvarez participated virtually, and Ambassador Eladio Loizaga, head of the OAS Electoral Observation Mission in Honduras, presented a report on the electoral situation in that country. "Democracy and the rule of law are based on due process and evidence, not on media accusations. Any complaint or disagreement must be channeled through the corresponding institutional channels, in accordance with the mechanisms provided for in Honduran legislation," said Minister Álvarez. He considered it unacceptable that the National Electoral Council be subject to political, institutional, or media pressure aimed at interfering with the performance of its duties. He added that the electoral process must be developed and concluded within the legal deadlines, with full independence and without interference of any kind. "The democratic stability of Honduras demands that all State institutions, without exception, abide by the rules of the democratic game that were previously established and accepted by all actors," said Foreign Minister Roberto Álvarez. In that same order, the Dominican chancellor urged the Permanent Council of the OAS to remain attentive, vigilant and ready to act, within the framework of its competences, in the face of any deviation that compromises the integrity of the electoral process in Honduras. "The sovereign will of the Honduran people, expressed at the polls, is not negotiable, does not admit interested reinterpretations, nor can it be substituted by pressures of any kind. Its full respect is a democratic obligation, not a political option," added Roberto Álvarez. The diplomat emphasized that the National Electoral Council (CNE) of Honduras is the only constitutional and legally authorized authority to administer elections, resolve disputes, and proclaim the official results. In this extraordinary session, requested by the Dominican Republic along with other countries in the region, Dominican ambassador Mayerlyn Cordero, permanent representative to the OAS, was present.