817.00/5508: Telegram
The Minister in Nicaragua (Eberhardt) to the Secretary of State
[Received March 25—2:32 a.m.]
148. My 146, March 23, 3 p.m.40 Text of decree:41
“The President of the Republic, in view of the fact that the Supreme Court of Justice, by resolution adopted on the 17th of the present month, designated General Frank Ross McCoy to be President of the National Board of Elections in place of Dr. Joaquin Gomez, who had submitted his resignation; and that there devolves upon the high official named, by virtue of the office for which he has thus been named, and by virtue of his nomination thereto by the President of the United States, the duty of directing the procedure for holding the elections of 1928 for the Supreme Authorities in accordance with the agreement made for the purpose of ending the civil war that was devastating Nicaragua;
[Page 483]Whereas, the electoral law of March 20th, 1923, is incapable of effective application under existing conditions due to the fact that the registration of citizens could not be effected at the prescribed time and that it is also impossible immediately to effect such registration;
Whereas, the people of Nicaragua cherish high hopes, predicated upon the free exercise of electoral rights as the starting point for a stable peace and a prosperous future—hopes having their origin in the letter and memorandum addressed by the President of Nicaragua to President Coolidge, wherein was set forth the procedure in accordance with which the Government of the United States might lend its cooperation for the satisfactory conduct of free and fair elections;
Whereas, the Government of Nicaragua contracted a solemn obligation with the people of Nicaragua and with the President of the United States, who, in a friendly capacity acted as mediator between the two parties, and the fulfillment of that obligation must not be evaded, due both to high considerations of right and public welfare and to the fact that any such evasion would unquestionably be the occasion for new disturbances of peace and order in the Republic, and
Whereas, in accordance with article 111 of the Constitution the Executive branch is charged, among other duties, with that of preserving the internal peace and security of the Republic and of taking the measures necessary to insure to its inhabitants the sacred right of suffrage, decrees:
- Article 1. The National Board of Elections, as now constituted under the electoral law of March 20th, 1923, with General Frank Ross McCoy as President, and with Dr. Ramon Castillo and Dr. Enoc Aguado as political members, is hereby vested with full and general authority to supervise the elections of 1928 for the Supreme Authorities and to prescribe, with obligatory force, all measures necessary for the registration of voters, for the casting and counting of ballots and regarding all other matters that may pertain to the election.
- Article 2. With a view to giving effect to the agreement entered into between the Government of Nicaragua, at its request, and the President of the United States, in accordance with which the latter is to lend his friendly aid to the end that the elections of 1928 for the Supreme Authorities shall be free, fair and impartial, and subject to the provision that the present chairman and political members of the National Board of Elections shall continue in the exercise of their respective functions, the electoral law March 20th, 1923, and any other laws and Executive decrees that may subsequently have been promulgated and approved, amending or supplementing said law, are hereby suspended. This decree shall enter into effect immediately following its publication and shall continue in force until the said election of 1928 shall have been held and the result thereof shall have been proclaimed by the Congress.
- Article 3. In order that absence of its members may not operate to prevent the due functioning of the National Board of Elections, the composition of said board shall include three suplentes, who may be appointed by the President of the Republic in the following manner: [Page 484] The suplente of the chairman of the National Board of Elections shall be that citizen of the United States of America who may be nominated by the President of the United States for that office, and the two suplentes for the political members shall be appointed, one upon the nomination of the Supreme Directorate of each of the two political parties, Conservative and Liberal, respectively. The suplentes of the political members and the suplente of the chairman of the board shall be inducted into office by the President of the Supreme Court. The President of the Republic shall remove from office any political member or any suplente of the National Board of Elections if the chairman of that board so recommends but no removal may be made except upon such recommendation. Vacancies that may occur among the political members of the same or in the office of suplente of the chairman of the board, shall be filled in the manner in which the original appointments of the corresponding suplentes were made. If the chairman of the board or any political member be unable to, or fail to, perform the duties of his office, due to any absence or other reason of a temporary character, his place shall be filled by the corresponding suplente during the period of such absence or failure to function. Furthermore, should the office of chairman of the board become definitely or permanently vacant, the suplente of the chairman shall thereupon take the place of his principal and a new suplente shall be appointed.
- Article 4. No meeting of the National Board of Elections can be held without the presence of the chairman of the board. The presence of the chairman, together with either of the political members, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of the business of the board; but if the chairman deem necessary an emergency meeting the presence of the chairman alone shall constitute a quorum in order to permit the emergency to be met with such measures as may be indispensable to the conduct of a free and fair election. The emergency shall be declared by the chairman of the board through formal notice given 1 day in advance to the political members.
- Article 5. No action or decision of the board shall be valid unless concurred in by the chairman of the board. In case of a tie the chairman of the board shall have a double vote. The chairman of the board is authorized to declare an emergency measure any action or determination which in his opinion may be indispensable for the conduct of a free and fair election; and the measure in question shall become effective as an order of the National Board of Elections 24 hours after it shall have been submitted to the said board in a formal meeting and have been declared an emergency measure by the chairman at that meeting.
- Article 6. The National Board of Elections has full powers to organize departmental boards and cantonal boards (directorios electorales) each of which shall include an equal number of political members from the two parties and shall be completed and presided over by a citizen of the United States nominated by the National Board of Elections. The said National Board of Elections shall delegate to the departmental boards and cantonal boards such functions as it may deem expedient.
- Article 7. The National Board of Elections shall count the votes cast in the elections that may be held, shall determine all questions and controversies that should arise relative to the validity and canvass of said votes and shall issue the corresponding certificates of election to those who may legally be elected to their respective offices. Such certificates shall be submitted to the Congress, to which the National Board of Elections shall transmit a detailed report, appropriate to the requirements of articles 83, clause 2, and 84, clause 2, of the Constitution, in order that the Congress may comply with those provisions.
- Article 8. The chairman of the National Board of Elections shall have, from and after the publication of the present decree, and until the proclamation by the Congress of the result of the elections of 1928 for the Supreme Authorities, authority to command the services of the National Constabulary (Guardia Nacional) and to give to that force such orders as he may deem necessary and appropriate to insure a free and impartial election.
- Article 9. Upon the proclamation of result of the elections of 1928 for the Supreme Authorities, the electoral law March 20th, 1923, and all other laws and Executive decrees suspended by article 2 of this decree shall be restored to full force and effect.
- Article 10. The present decree shall go into effect upon its publication by proclamation in the departmental capitals and shall also be published in the Official Gazette.
Publish.—Executive Mansion—Managua, March 21, 1928. Adolfo Diaz—The Minister of Gobernacion—Ricardo Lopez, by special authority.”