OAS ELECTORAL OBSERVER MISSION BACK ON TRACK IN VENEZUELA

At the request of the Venezuelan government, the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), C�sar Gaviria, will be sending back an electoral observation mission to resume activities interrupted when that country's May 28 elections were postponed. Led by Rub�n M. Perina, Coordinator for Institutional Strengthening in the OAS' Unit for the Promotion of Democracy (UPD), the team of OAS monitors will begin arriving in Caracas on July 17.

The observers will monitor all stages of the electoral process that culminates in the July 30 vote, and will report to the Secretary General as well as to the OAS member states. The mission is intended to support Venezuela's democracy while collaborating with all participants to ensure the election is a transparent and credible exercise.

The OAS monitored the last four elections held in Venezuela: the November 1998 legislative and regional elections; the December 1998 presidential elections; the July 1999 elections for the Constituent National Assembly; and last December's referendum.

Thirty-five international election observers with a proven track record of monitoring elections in various countries of the hemisphere will make up the OAS Electoral Observation Mission. The team will also involve other monitors with expertise in election organizing, electoral law, statistics, information and communication systems, media and logistics.