Almagro highlights the importance of electoral processes in the Americas

On Friday at the plenary session of the Ninth Summit of the Americas, Luis Almagro, Secretary-General of the Organization of American States, emphasized the need to maintain free and transparent elections in the Western Hemisphere.

“Better democracies are needed,” the diplomat said, who also highlighted the role of election observation missions in the various elections held on the continent recently.

Almagro said the Election Observation Mission, as an election verification mechanism within the Organization of American States, has demonstrated its ability to “ensure democratic transitions” as well as identify irregularities, such as “tampering with hidden servers” and access to the system by unsuitable people, among others.

After Almagro’s speech, the floor was taken by Bolivian Foreign Minister Rogelio Maita, who in addition to his refusal Not invited by Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba He criticized before the summit the role of the Organization of American States and directly the role of its Secretary General Almagro.

“Unfortunately, the OAS and its General Secretariat are today not guarantors of the institutional framework, the rule of law and respect for human rights,” he said.

Maeta accused the OAS of participating “in the coup d’état that took place in Bolivia in November 2019”. On that occasion, following accusations of election fraud, intense protests led to the expulsion of then-President Evo Morales from the country.

Observer mission from the Organization of American States Various offenses ruled in that electoral competition.

He stressed that “there is no transparency in the Organization of American States in the Almagro state. Bolivia is still waiting for a fair and impartial investigation into what happened in the so-called election audit.”

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