(E-149/00) August 9, 2000 OAS PROVIDES TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR BOLIVIA'S VOTER REGISTRATION Bolivia's efforts to upgrade its voter registration and civil registry are getting a boost, thanks to a technical cooperation agreement the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Bolivian government signed in Washington August 9. The technical services, to be provided through the OAS Unit for the Promotion of Democracy, will also help Bolivia to improve its system of vote count and transmission of election results. The OAS Assistant Secretary General, Ambassador Luigi R. Einaudi, signed the agreement with Bolivia's Permanent Representative to the OAS, Ambassador Marcelo Ostria Trigo, who expressed his country's appreciation for the vital technical assistance that will help Bolivia decide on appropriate computer systems to handle voter registration and vote count for the elections due in 2002. "This is prudent foresight," the Bolivian envoy declared, noting that the proposed technical assistance augurs well for more credible and reliable vote count. Ambassador Einaudi remarked that by putting the electoral machinery in place two years ahead of the elections, Bolivia was signaling its serious commitment to representative democracy. "The OAS is honored to assist the Bolivian government once again as it seeks to use technology to enhance transparency and credibility in its electoral systems," the Assistant Secretary General added. The agreement also provides for a technical auditing of computer applications and systems used by Bolivia's National Electoral Court to manage the civil registry data base and the voter's list. The UPD will select and oversee the experts hired do the auditing. The project is being financed by the Government of Bolivia, through an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) loan.   **********