WASHINGTON, USA – The Electoral Observation Mission of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Honduras, headed by the former president of Costa Rica, Luis Guillermo Solís, strongly condemns the assassinations of the mayor of the municipality of Cantarranas and candidate for reelection, Francisco Gaitán; the coordinator of the Partido Libertad y Refundación (Libre) and candidate for regidor of San Luis, Elvir Casaña; and all the aggressions and acts of violence that have occurred in the country in recent days.
The Mission expresses its concern over the acts of violence that have taken place in the context of this electoral process and expresses that violence has no place in democracy. The Mission also urges authorities to move swiftly in the investigation of these unacceptable acts and bring those responsible to justice.
In this sense, the OAS Mission welcomes the initiative of the National Electoral Council to summon the various political actors to sign the Political Agreement to achieve peaceful general elections, and urges the parties involved to build the necessary consensus to materialize it. Likewise, it urges political organizations to carry out campaigns in which the exchange of respectful ideas and a constructive attitude in favor of the country predominate.
The Mission already has a team in Honduras that will promptly monitor various aspects of the electoral process and will continue to arrive in a staggered manner in the coming days to carry out observation tasks in the framework of the November 28 general elections.