(E-131/01) June 18, 2001     PARAGUAY’S ELECTRONIC VOTING PILOT PROJECT SUPPORTED BY UNITED STATES   Luis Lauredo, the United States Ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), announced today that the U.S. Government is contributing $135,000 to an OAS project on electronic voting with the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE) of Paraguay. The project will be carried out by the Organization's Unit for the Promotion of Democracy at the request of the Government of Paraguay. On November 18, 2001, Paraguay will hold elections in 223 municipalities. This project will set up a system for electronic voting in five districts within Paraguay in response to the interest of the TSJE. To accomplish this, and because of Brazil’s extensive experience in electronic voting, the Regional Electoral Tribunal of the Federal District of Brazil has offered to lend the TSJE 152 voting machines for the project in Paraguay. The TSJE has already determined which districts and municipalities will be participating in the project. According to Ambassador Lauredo, "an agreement has been signed by the OAS and the TSJE containing the terms of reference for the Electoral Technical Assistance and a seminar will be held in Asuncion in July to examine thoroughly the issues involved in electronic voting." Following the meetings, voters will receive extensive information about the pilot program in preparation for the November elections. Voting procedures will also be explained in detail to the political parties. OAS Secretary General, C�sar Gaviria emphasized that "the Paraguay project is another example of democratic institution strengthening in the hemisphere, which has become one of the principal objectives of the OAS." The voting machines will be inspected in Brasilia and then transported to Paraguay, so that they can be installed and tested in plenty of time for the elections. The OAS will work with the TSJE to adapt the software in the machines to Paraguay’s specific requirements. Ambassador Lauredo noted, "One of the major goals of the project is to gather, tabulate and disseminate election results more quickly." He added that the rapid communication of accurate election results is an important way to increase the confidence of voters that their wishes have been respected. It also increases trust in democratic elections, an important cornerstone in the consolidation of democracy. The Ambassador expressed appreciation to the Governments of Paraguay and Brazil for their willingness to cooperate in this project. He stated that, "this kind of pilot project strengthens electoral institutions and assists in the decentralization of electoral processes."   ##########