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EOM Begins Deployment in El Salvador for Second Round of Presidential Election

  February 27, 2014

The Electoral Observation Mission (EOM) of the Organization of American States (OAS) in El Salvador, headed by lawyer and former Bolivian Foreign Minister Gustavo Fernández Saavedra, started its deployment for the presidential election earlier this week. The second round election is scheduled for March 9, 2014.

Before Election Day, Fernández Saavedra, who was designated for the position by the Secretary General of the hemispheric institution, José Miguel Insulza, will participate in meetings with the Electoral Superior Court (Tribunal Supremo Electoral) of El Salvador, the presidential candidates, government authorities, representatives from the international community, and other political and social actors.

The OAS international observers will be present in all 14 departments of El Salvador. As in the first round, the EOM/OAS will directly observe the electoral process and will address diverse topics, such as electoral organization, electoral technology, legal framework, political analysis, among other elements.

A mobile group is currently visiting different parts of the country, with the purpose of observing the development and organization of the election, as well as collecting information related to the electoral process.

The Electoral Observation Mission would like to encourage the citizens of El Salvador to go to the polls with the same maturity and calmness they did during the first round election, so that their vote demonstrates, once again, the civic spirit of Salvadorians. Additionally, the EOM/OAS hopes that the different political actors contribute to maintain an atmosphere of respect and tolerance, which can allow the motivation of voters towards the candidates’ ideas and proposals.

The EOM/OAS in El Salvador will work with both authorities and citizens in general to contribute to the impartiality, transparency and equality of the electoral process, which will conclude with the election of the President and Vice-President of El Salvador.

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

Reference: E-070/14