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OAS Delivers Reports on Electoral Observation in Costa Rica, Paraguay, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

The Chiefs of Mission of the Electoral Observation Missions (EOM) of the Organization of American States (OAS) conducted in recent months in three member countries today presented before the Permanent Council their respective oral reports, in which they included highlights, concerns and recommendations to strengthen transparency, citizen participation and the promotion of equality in the electoral processes of each country.

Municipal Elections in Costa Rica

Ambassador María Emma Mejía, Chief of the Electoral Observation Mission that observed the municipal elections of December 5th, presented a report in which she highlighted the strength of democracy, the implementation of reforms to the electoral code, the credibility of the stakeholders involved, the gender and parity initiative for popularly elected representatives, as well as the civic tradition demonstrated in the Costa Rican elections.

The Mission judged the technological innovations introduced by the Electoral Court an example to be followed in other countries of the region, "including the incorporation of radio frequency technology to monitor the entry and exit of electoral materials," the report indicates. At the same time, the Chief of Mission alluded to certain concerns about issues of public financing. "The delivery of resources as reimbursement limit access to them and generate situations of unequal competition," she asserted, and included other concerns related to the lack of opportunity to the media in obtaining spaces for broadcasting electoral information, and the high abstention rate registered, which constitute warnings in the process of decentralization and institutionalization."

Ambassador Mejía concluded with a series of recommendations for Costa Rican authorities, among them: to consider the unification of the system of financing for presidential and municipal elections; to foment citizen awareness on the role and importance of local governments and processes of decentralization; and to effectively apply provisions to advertising spaces.

At the conclusion of the presentation, Costa Rican Ambassador José Enrique Castillo alluded to the progress achieved in his country's electoral system and acknowledged that "there is room for improvement, and in this sense we thank the recommendations and we will try to apply them to continue making progress in this field."

Municipal Elections in Paraguay

The Director of the OAS Department for Cooperation and Electoral Observation, Pablo Gutiérrez, submitted on behalf of the Chief of Mission, Enrique Ayala, a report on the municipal elections conducted in Paraguay last November 7, in which may be highlighted the fact that they took place "in a satisfactory way and without any major setbacks." The report highlights the high percentage of women who chaired the vote collection boards, and the efforts of the electoral authority to "deliver the results in a timely way."

The document presented by the high-ranking OAS official before the representatives of the member countries recommends: "to carefully review the terms available to the parties for the formation of political alliances"; to promote in a more effective way the participation of women in popularly elected posts; to give the Superior Court greater opportunities to be able to develop "an effective supervision of campaign expenses"; to strengthen the work of the electoral authority as supervisors of electoral advertising and the diffusion of public opinion surveys by the media and political parties and "elevate the levels of security in the elaboration of ballots as well as in their storage and transportation."

Gutiérrez thanked the Superior Court of Electoral Justice of Paraguay "and all of the government authorities for the permanent cooperation and support in conducting this mission, and it congratulates the Paraguayan people for their massive participation in the electoral process, reaffirming once again their strong commitment to democracy."

Upon receiving the report, the Permanent Representative of Paraguay to the OAS, Ambassador Bernardino Hugo Saguier, thanked the collaboration of the OAS in the elections, "which we have been receiving since the moment Paraguay began its democratic transition more than twenty years ago."

General Elections in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

The Chief of Mission of the Group of observers that followed the general elections conducted in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Frank Almaguer, characterized the elections of December 13, 2010, as "a well-managed electoral process, which facilitated the counting of the votes and the delivery of the results in what turned out to be a highly competitive election." He also said that the environment in which the voting took place was "orderly and peaceful," and that there were no reported instances of violence or voter intimidation.

The head of the EOM, made up of 11 observers from seven different countries, delivered the following recommendations: to consider the adoption of legislation on political campaign financing, requiring the disclosure of contributors, campaign expenditures and provisions that guarantee access to the media; to redouble the efforts to clean up the voters' list; to ensure that all eligible citizens have obtained their voter identification card so that this may be the only form of identification used; to ensure greater uniformity and standardization of procedures among the polling sites; and to improve voter access to the polling sites, especially voters who are physically challenged and the elderly.

The Permanent Representative of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to the OAS, Ambassador La Celia A. Prince, thanked the work of the EOM, asserting that her government "regards the OAS as a necessary partner in giving credence and validity to our democratic process."

On the subject of the elections of December 13, 2010, the eight general elections since the independence of her country in October 1979, Ambassador Prince highlighted that it was the first time in the history of a Commonwealth Caribbean country that a government was victorious in returning to office through general elections shortly alter having lost a referendum.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-508/11