817.00/5677: Telegram
The Minister in Nicaragua (Eberhardt) to the Secretary of State
[Received 9:50 p.m.]
231. Part 2.49 The convention of each Conservative faction was a cut and dried affair. Each convention purported to register the almost unanimous choice of the total authorized number of delegates from the various departments for its candidate. Of course, such a result was brought about by manipulating each of the departmental delegations, each of which attended its respective convention. Each convention claims that its proceedings alone were regular and valid, and that the proceedings of the other convention were irregular and without effect. One question at issue is the sufficiency of the credentials of the several departmental delegations. One factor bearing on that issue is the legality of a meeting of certain members of the party’s old Junta Directiva. In this connection see the Legation’s telegram 216, May 17, 11 a.m. On May 23 the Rappaccioli faction sent a communication to the National Board of Elections, which purports to be a copy of the minutes of the national convention, and which in substance constitutes a claim for recognition of that faction as the Conservative Party. A similar communication was submitted this morning by the Cuadra Pasos faction which included a specific request for a hearing in case the validity of their claim should be [Page 496] questioned. No action has been taken on these communications except to file them, and no action is predicted or contemplated pending further communication from the Department. The issues which may have to be met and the various possible courses of action have been examined and discussed in connection with such information as was obtainable relative to the probable future attitude of the factional leaders. An effort should immediately be directed toward bringing about conditions which will permit dealing with the Conservative Party as a whole. If this cannot be brought about within a reasonable time, a decision as to a further course of procedure must then be taken. It is thought that the influence that will most promote a union of the factions will be a conclusion on the part of the Conservative leaders and such rank and file of the party as have any say in the matter, that continued division will not promote their respective purposes. If the ultimate purpose of either faction is obstructing the election or abstaining from participation, as is still asserted, any effort toward union will likely prove fruitless, but such an ultimate purpose should not yet be assumed. Various circumstances, including the specific mention of the Conservative Party in the negotiations at Tipitapa and in the Executive decree of March 21, have led to the general assumption that the National Board of Elections must ultimately recognize one faction if the two continue divided. A further assumption appears to prevail that the determination of the issue of recognition by the National Board of Elections must be based on the party’s statutes and related rules. Neither assumption is correct; nevertheless, many Conservatives will probably continue to hold them unless some authoritative statement giving the opposite view is issued. In the event that the National Board of Elections should ultimately elect to hear and determine the issue of factional regularity under the party rules, a real question exists as to whether either faction could establish satisfactory fulfillment of the necessary steps connected with credentials, procedure and nominations. A decision of the National Board of Elections rejecting the exclusive claims of both factions would leave the members of those factions but three probable alternatives: (1) Abstaining from the election; (2) participation through such secondary party or parties as might be admitted by petition; and (3) belated union under such procedure as the National Board of Elections might sanction in the exercise of its full powers. No course of procedure has yet presented itself to which objections, such as the risk of nonparticipation, cannot be urged. It is recommended, therefore, that a statement essentially as follows be promptly issued by the Legation rather than by the National Board of Elections, for reasons which are believed to be apparent.
[Page 497]“There appears to prevail an impression that if the present division in the Conservative Party continues, there will devolve upon the National Board of Elections the recognition of one of the two factions. That impression appears to include the assumption that any such action of the National Board of Elections would necessarily be wholly based on the application of the statutes of the party to the procedure surrounding the recent national conventions. The assumption and impression set forth above are entirely unwarranted. The National Board of Elections possesses plenary powers as regards both the determination of questions of party recognition and the selection of the means for arriving at the determinations. These plenary powers would permit the National Board of Elections, in its discretion, to reject the claims to recognition of any and every faction claiming exclusive right to represent a given party. These powers would also permit the National Board of Elections to recognize a union of factions into which a party might have previously become divided. The methods by which such union might be effected would not necessarily be limited for purposes of recognition of the National Board of Elections to the method of procedure contemplated or prescribed by the internal rules of the party in question. It is the earnest hope of the United States Government that no condition may arise which will necessitate the exercise by the National Board of Elections of the broad powers mentioned above. It is obviously to the interest of the entire Nation and of its political parties that complications of this nature be adjusted by each party in its own way.”
This announcement is the only action which is recommended at the present time. The announcement plainly suggests contingencies calculated to incline to union any factions which may really wish to participate in the elections. The announcement contains no definite commitment regarding future courses of action. It is believed that the risks involved are less than those incident to any other course of action offering reasonable prospects of success in uniting the factions of the Conservative Party.
- For part 1, see telegram No. 231, May 24, 4 p.m., supra.↩