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OAS Electoral Observation Mission Begins Deployment for the June 2 Elections in Mexico

The Electoral Observation Mission of the Organization of American States (OAS) for the federal and local elections in Mexico on June 2, 2024, headed by the former Chilean Foreign Minister, Heraldo Muñoz, is arriving in the country in a staggered manner.

The purpose of the Electoral Observation Missions is to support the improvement and strengthening of electoral processes and systems. To achieve this objective, the Mission will have a team of 100 people, including specialists who will analyze issues such as electoral organization; voting abroad; electoral technology; electoral justice; political financing; political participation of women and indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples; political-electoral violence; and campaigns, media and digital communication.

During its work, the members of the Mission will meet with government representatives, electoral authorities, candidates, political leaders, academics and representatives of civil society, as well as members of the international community, to learn about the development of the electoral process in the country and follow up on the recommendations issued in past OAS Missions. On election day, the Mission will be deployed in the 32 federal entities of Mexico to observe the process from the opening of the voting booths to the transmission of the results, as well as in 5 cities abroad (Dallas, Los Angeles, Madrid, Montreal and Washington, D.C.) to observe the voting of Mexican citizens residing abroad.

For the Mission to carry out its work with all guarantees of independence and autonomy, the Organization has signed two agreements. The agreement with the National Electoral Institute establishes, among other matters, access to all stages of the process, as well as information related to them. The document signed with the federal government grants immunities for OAS observers.

The Mission expresses its concern about the incidents of violence that have occurred in the context of these elections and particularly deplores the loss of human life. In the final stretch of the electoral process, the Mission hopes that citizens and candidates can express themselves freely and that election day takes place free of violence and in a climate of democratic coexistence.

The information collected, as well as the Mission's direct observations, will be an integral part of the preliminary report to be published after the elections. Subsequently, the Mission will present a report to the Permanent Council of the Organization.

This is the seventh Mission that the OAS has deployed in Mexico, and it is possible thanks to the financial contributions of Brazil, South Korea, Canada, Spain, the United States, France, Italy, the Netherlands, the Dominican Republic and Switzerland.

Reference: E-035/24