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OAS and El Salvador Sign Agreement for Observation Mission to the Presidential Elections of February 2014

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, and the Permanent Representative of El Salvador to the hemispheric Organization, Joaquín Maza Martelli, today signed the agreement which stipulates the conditions for the work of the Electoral Observation Mission (EOM) to accompany the presidential elections of February 2, 2014 in the Central American country.

At the signing ceremony of the Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of Observers, held at OAS headquarters in Washington, DC, Secretary General Insulza revealed that the Mission will be led by Gustavo Fernández Saavedra, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bolivia, who has served as Chief of Mission in the country before, and who "knows about the Salvadoran political process and the electoral structure of the country."

The Chief of Mission will conduct a preliminary visit in December, said the OAS leader, "to meet with the different actors in the electoral process." He recalled that the Organization has observed several elections in the country, which in his view "demonstrates the ongoing commitment of El Salvador to carry out and ensure free and fair elections, and it is an important responsibility for us to support and cooperate with them to this end."

“On this occasion, nearly 5 million Salvadorans will have the right to elect the President and Vice President, who will assume office in June 2014 to rule for a period of five years," said Secretary General Insulza.

For his part, the Permanent Representative of El Salvador to the OAS, Joaquín Maza Martelli, said his country "is committed by law and in its actions to the respect for and promotion of democratic culture, in which we recognize the importance of Electoral Observation Missions, in accordance with the Inter-American Democratic Charter."

Ambassador Maza said his government will recognize "the same privileges and immunities for the observers that is granted to OAS officials" during the elections, which in his view "confirm the democratic maturity of a country which is undoubtedly continuing to build its own destiny." He recalled the technical cooperation agreement recently signed between the Supreme Electoral Tribunal of his country and the Department of Electoral Cooperation and Observation (DECO) of the OAS General Secretariat, "which includes and complements a framework for cooperation on the very important issue of democratic development."

The Electoral Observation Missions of the OAS are recognized as a key tool for political cooperation to contribute to strengthening electoral processes in the Hemisphere and promoting democratic governance. Through them, the OAS observes the electoral cycle working with government authorities and with citizens in general to ensure fairness, transparency and equity among the participants in the electoral process.

A gallery of photos of the event is available here.

The B-roll of the event is available here.

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

Reference: E-425/13