CP/RES. 885 (1499/05)

SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRACY IN BOLIVIA

 (Adopted at its session held on July 26, 2005)

THE PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES,

HAVING HEARD the information provided by the Ambassador, Special Envoy, of Bolivia on the political and social crisis his country had undergone, which jeopardized the institutional process and representative democracy in that country, and on the constitutional mechanisms and procedures applied and the constitutional mandates of President Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé;

MINDFUL of the commitment to keep constant watch over the stability of the democratic systems of its member states, in the framework of the Charter of the Organization of American States and the Inter-American Democratic Charter;

RECALLING Declaration AG/DEC. 42 (XXXV-O/05) of June 7, 2005, “Declaration of the General Assembly on the Situation in Bolivia”;

NOTING with satisfaction that it was possible to preserve institutional continuity and democratic values, with a change of president carried out in accordance with the Constitution and applicable law in Bolivia;

HAVING BEEN INFORMED that the President of the Republic of Bolivia, Dr. Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé, in keeping with the transitory nature of his position, has called general elections as a means of giving expression to the sentiments and wishes of Bolivians;

CONSIDERING also the role of the Organization and the solidarity and cooperation practiced by its member states for the common purpose of promoting, strengthening, and defending democracy in the Hemisphere, while respecting the principle of nonintervention; and

BEARING IN MIND the efforts of the recently formed Bolivian Government to preserve the rule of law and to protect democratic institutions and the effective exercise of representative democracy,

RESOLVES:

1. To recognize the results achieved by the Government of Bolivia, headed by President Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé, in fulfilling its duty to promote and defend democracy, in the context of the Charter of the Organization of American States, the Inter-American Democratic Charter, and the Constitution of Bolivia.

2. To support the Government of Bolivia in its efforts and in the understandings achieved with the purpose of preserving representative democracy and the country’s unity, in keeping with the Bolivian Constitution, encouraging all political, social, and economic sectors to continue a broad dialogue to strengthen the rule of law through free, fair, and transparent electoral procedures.

3. To reaffirm the readiness of the Organization of American States to provide appropriate technical cooperation on electoral matters, at the request of the Bolivian authorities, so as to facilitate dialogue as a means of safeguarding democratic institutions; and, accordingly, to instruct the General Secretariat, through the appropriate mechanisms, to prepare an electoral cooperation program at the Bolivian Government’s request.