Photo of Dead Man on Ballot : Military Watches as 9 Run for Honduras Presidency

The campaign for the November presidential election here is in full swing, laced with intrigue and taking place under the watchful eye of the powerful military.

At least nine candidates are in the running, and a picture of each is to appear on the ballot. One candidate, fearing that few voters will recognize him, has substituted the picture of another, better-known politician--who is dead.

If the election takes place as planned, it will be the first time since 1924 that one civilian government of Honduras has peacefully replaced another. Military rulers are the rule.

The United States, which has poured millions of dollars of aid money into Honduras, is pressing politicians and military men to allow the electoral process to take its course.

Honduras has become an important partner in U.S. Central American policy, which focuses on keeping military pressure on Marxist-led Nicaragua to the south. Honduras allows U.S. soldiers to conduct continuing tropical war games on its territory and is the main sanctuary for the anti-Sandinista rebels supported by the United States.

Charges of fraud abound in the election campaign so far, and candidates have been the targets of endless whispering campaigns.

Presidential Speculation

Outgoing President Roberto Suazo Cordova has been in office for four years and cannot legally succeed himself. He is said, nonetheless, to want to prolong his time in power and is the subject of much speculation involving attempts to derail the elections.

One rumor says that Suazo will “discover” fraud on election eve and persuade the military to delay the vote. But recently, the military quashed coup rumors with forceful criticism of politicians looking to block the election.

“There are Hondurans of slippery morals . . . who have tried to approach elements of the armed forces to make dishonest and amoral propositions,” declared Gen. Walter Lopez, head of the Honduran military. He added, “Nothing must stand in the way of the elections. The military will ensure the purity and freedom of the balloting.”

The United States regularly reminds the Honduran military that U.S. economic and arms aid could well be interrupted if the elections are not held.

New election rules have made the campaign more bitter than expected. Each party can run more than one candidate; the winner will be the highest vote-getter from the party with the most votes overall.

So far, there are four candidates from the ruling Liberal Party, three from the opposition Nationalist Party and one each from the small Christian Democratic and Innovation parties. Candidates for congressional seats and municipal offices will also be running.

The two presidential front-runners are white-haired lawyer Jose Azcona of the Liberal Party and economist Rafael Leonardo Callejas of the Nationalists.

Azcona, 58, has been campaigning hard for two years and is a bitter foe of President Suazo, who has put up his own Liberal candidate.

Birthplace an Issue

Suazo contends that Azcona was born in Spain, not Honduras, and is thus ineligible to run. Azcona insists he is Honduran-born. Witnesses have come forward to say that Azcona was born in this country.

Callejas, 42, the leading Nationalist, has used his good looks and his promises to repair Honduras’ ailing economy to move into contention. He has also attracted attention by accusing Suazo of using government resources to register only Liberal voters.

A dark horse is Liberal congressional leader Efrain Bu Giron, who set off a political confrontation earlier this year by trying to overhaul the country’s electoral commission, which was controlled by Suazo.

The rest of the presidential candidates are considered also-rans, including Suazo’s favorite, Oscar Mejia Arrellano. Mejia, a former minister in Suazo’s Cabinet, is the candidate who, hoping to revive his moribund campaign, replaced his own ballot portrait with one of a deceased Liberal Party leader.