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Political party dialogue “ on track ”: The Honduras experience

Political party dialogue “ on track ”: The Honduras experience. Miguel A. Cálix Martínez Coordinator NIMD Program in Honduras. Some relevant data…. Honduras is a Republic located in Central America . Territory : 112,492 Km 2. Population : exceeds 8 million .

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Political party dialogue “ on track ”: The Honduras experience

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  1. Politicalparty dialogue “ontrack”: The Honduras experience Miguel A. Cálix Martínez Coordinator NIMD Program in Honduras

  2. Somerelevant data… Honduras is a Republiclocated in Central America. Territory: 112,492 Km 2. Population: exceeds 8 million. 66 % populationunderpovertylevel; social inequality (GiniCoefficient 2011 0.58). Per cápita INB 1,970 USD, economicgrowth (circa 3%), highlydependantonexportations of agricultureproducts (coffee, tropical fruit, cane), clothingproduction and minerals. Migrantsremittances are alsorelevantforinternalEconomy. Afterdecades of militarygovernments, returnedtocivilian rule in 1980. A new Constitutionwasapproved in 1982

  3. BriefHistoricalBackground of “Acuerdismo” (culture of politicalagreements) • Traditional “Acuerdismo”: toresolvepolitical crisis orpromotepoliticalreform. Examples: 1985 (“Option B”) and 2001 (Agreementamongpresidentialcandidates) • 2005: PoliticalAgreementwasfullynegotiatedbutwasnotsigned. “Acuerdismo” • 2009 (June): Political crisis: President Zelaya oustedbyArmedForces and legislative/judiciarybranches. • 2009 (Nov): President Lobo elected • 2011 (May): Acuerdo de Cartagena (promotedreturnto Honduras of formerPresident Zelaya)

  4. New electionsunderdifferentcircumstances… BEFORE AND AFTER 28-J-2009 PoliticalPartySystem in transition: BIPARTISANSHIP MULTIPARTY SYSTEM (PL + PN + 3 pp) (PN + Libre + PL + PAC + 5 pp…?) AcuerdismoPartiesalliances and coalitions TraditionalfacticTraditionalfacticActors plus Actors New Actors

  5. But… Same Electoral Law (2003): a new lawprojectfromSupreme Electoral Court (TSE) wasnotapprovedbyLegislative. Lowlevel of publicconfidence in TSE (5 of 10 personshavenoneorlittleconfidence – Cid Gallup Sept. 2013) Highperception of wrongdoing in PrimaryElections in November 2012 (60%): lowconfidence of final results (speciallypublication of preliminaryresults), politicalpartiesrepresentativesadministratepolls, representativesID´s are notpersonalized. Risks of polarization / politicalviolence.

  6. Some contextual elements • Structuralproblemshaveworsened and new oneshavearisen…alltobefacedby new Government • Economicdifficulties (fiscal crisis, highdomestic and foreigndebt, poorstate of publicutilities) and insufficientStatecapacityfor “delivery” (absent o deficientState) • Highinequality & povertylevels • Violence and insecurity (Homicidesrate: 86 x 100 thousand). Drugtrafficking. Highimpunity (96%); CorruptionPerceptionIndex (TI-2012: place 133/174 - index 28/100) • Heightened social conflicts and humanrightschallenges.

  7. PoliticalParty dialogue isneeded…tostrenghten mutual confidence, transparency and legitimacy of elections (24-N) • Concernsaboutprocedures and rules fortheElectionstobeheldon 24-Nov-2013. • PoliticalPartieswillingto dialogue… • Facilitation and sponsorship of interparty dialogue requested. • Demands of national and international “shielding” of elections (G-16 Cooperation, International Observers) • Chance of a new PoliticalAgreement (proceduralagreement).

  8. Interlocutors Politicalparties (9 parties) TSE (Supreme Electoral Court) RNP (institution responsible for issuing Identity card, needed to vote, and to provide information of electoral registration) UN, OAS, US as sponsors UNDP/ NIMD as facilitators Thru bilateral meetings, interparty dialogue forums, consultations and facilitation by experts.

  9. The trust building process... NIMD has signed bilateral agreementswith ALL nine (9) politicalpartiessince 2012 and has anstrategic MOU with UNDP topromote inclusive politicalparty dialogue. NIMD, togetherwith UNPD, has organizedforumsincluding ALL parties, tobuildtrust and acceptanceamongthem, usingforeignpoliticalpeers and nationalexperts as facilitators . NIMD participatedactively, sidebysidewith UNDP, duringtheprocess of bilateral consultationswithpartiestoidentifyissues that could be part of the agenda of interparty dialogue . Allthisprocesstook 14 months and includedsomemitigationmeasures (direct and multipleapproach, highlevellobbying, confidentiality…)

  10. Agreement at last… Aftermanyconsultations and meetings, bilateral and withallthepoliticalparties, partyrepresentativesagreedonthetext of the “Compromiso de Garantías Mínimas para la Ética y la Transparencia Electoral”, thatwassignedbyallpresidentialcandidatesonAugust 21, 2013. UNDP assumed a central role in thefacilitation of the final phase of theagreementapproval, withcollateraltechnicalsupportprovidedby NIMD. Themainfacilitator of theprocesswas a foreignexpert in dialogue, withpermanenthelp of nationalexperts and consultants.

  11. Principles underlying the process and facilitation Inclusiveness in calls and participation Tolerance, mutual respect and acknowledgment Impartiality in facilitation Active response Decisionsbyconsensus Openesstootheropinions and ideas

  12. Lessons learned, barriers met... Prior inclusive forums with all parties provided a “confidence” space for the next stage of search of agreements. In previously polarized environments, facilitators who are not related to the national political context are useful to earn trust of the participants in the interparty dialogue (note: also if they were not involved with recent conflicts…) It is not appropriate to include many detailed contents in agreements, which may easily be ignored or abused. Some awareness of this must be promoted among the participants.

  13. It is advisable to promote “soft diplomacy” of relevant national and international stakeholders. Facilitators and sponsors on political party dialogue need to be aware of political sensitivities and particularities of the parties and the representatives of political parties (to overcome gaps in communication or solve dillema that concur unexpectedly.

  14. Next steps... TechnicalassistancefortheSecretariat of thePartiesSpecialComissionforFollow-up of the “Compromiso” (9 members) Evaluation of thefirststage of theAgreement (duringOctober /November / December 2013 – January 2014) Preparation of thenextstage of dialogue for 2014: new Electoral Law and deeppoliticalreforms (includingConstitutionalchanges) willdemandintra and interpartyconsultations. Also, otheragreementstoaddressmainproblems of the country (fiscal and otherstructural issues).

  15. ¡Gracias! NIMD Honduras Edificio Plaza Azul, Tercer Nivel No.36Col. Lomas del Guijarro Sur, esquina Ave. Berlín y Calle VienaTegucigalpa, MDC; Honduras, C.A.Tel: (504) 2231-3194

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