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OAS and Nicaragua Sign Agreements for Electoral Accompaniment

  October 12, 2012

The Organization of American States (OAS) signed with the government of Nicaragua an Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the Electoral Accompaniment Mission (EAM) to be deployed for the municipal elections of November 4, 2012. At the same time, the OAS and the Supreme Electoral Council of that country signed an Agreement on the Procedure for the Accompaniment Mission.

The ceremony was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country and involved the head of the EAM/OAS, Lázaro Cárdenas, the Foreign Minister of Nicaragua Samuel Santos and the President of the Supreme Electoral Council, Roberto Rivas.

The agreements provide the basis for the work of the EAM/OAS in the upcoming elections, safeguarding the independence the Mission for the exercise of its functions and ensuring the facilities to carry out its activities, including free movement within the national territory and fluid contact with the organisms that make up Nicaragua's electoral system.

Furthermore, the agreement with the Supreme Electoral Council ensures full access to the information required by the EAM/OAS, while the OAS commits itself to carrying out its functions of accompaniment within the framework of the sovereignty of the state and the Nicaraguan Constitution.

The signing took place as part of the preliminary visit to the head of the EAM/OAS in Nicaragua, which marked the formal beginning of the Mission. During the visit, mission members will also meet with various electoral, government and political authorities, as well as representatives of the national and international community.

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

Reference: E-369/12