817.00/5886: Telegram
The Minister in Nicaragua (Eberhardt) to the Secretary of State
[Received 10:20 p.m.]
301. On July 11th the National Board of Elections formally recognized the new directorate of the Conservative Party. On the same day it formally adopted the regulations to govern the election.52 Nominations for all offices to be filled in the election must be made by August 14th.
On July 27th the board considered communications from the Conservative Republican and the Liberal Republican Parties demanding the right to be placed on the ballot without further formalities. The former party claimed this right under an amendment of the Dodds Law passed in 1925 which formally recognized it as a legally constituted party and the Liberal Republicans or Coreistos asserted that they had really obtained 10 percent of the votes in the 1924 election but that the final canvass had been fraudulent. Both claims were denied on the ground that the Dodds Law with all its amendments had been suspended. Neither of these parties has shown any evidence of strength which would entitle it to serious consideration.
[Paraphrase.] The matter of admitting nominations by petition has not been decided yet. It will be taken up in the near future [Page 503] by the National Board of Elections. According to present indications it will not be necessary to grant the right of petition because there is no serious third party movement. Apparently the autonomist movement produced no results and the party has neither put forward a candidate nor made its existence known to the National Board of Elections in any other way.
Should there be a demand for the right of petition it will come apparently solely from persons working in the interests of one of the two great parties who hope to deprive the other of votes like the Liberal Republicans are said to have done on Chamorro’s behalf in 1921. All actions of the National Board of Elections thus far have been taken by unanimous vote. [End paraphrase.]
- Republica de Nicaragua, Reglamento Electoral Para las Elecciones de 1928 de Autoridades Supremas, Dictado por el Consejo Nacional de Elecciones, en virtud del Decreto Ejecutivo del 21 Marzo de 1928 (Managua, Tipografia Alemana de Carlos Heuberger). Also printed in English. (File Nos. 817.00/5934 and /6011.)↩