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#3486: OAS EOM - Press release (fwd)
From: Mary Durran <durranmary@hotmail.com>
OAS Electoral Observation Mission
Press Release, 5 May 2000
Informal Translation
Despite certain difficulties observed during the registration process, the
majority of the Haitian electorate who wished to register were able to
obtain a voting card and will therefore be able to exercise their right to
vote on 21 May. This is the main conclusion of a report published today
by the OAS Electoral Observation Mission on the registration process
throughout the country.
?The Mission is of the opinion that the registration process has been
completed adequately, setting down the conditions for competitive
legislative, municipal and local elections,? concludes the report, which
also addesses the obstacles affecting the process.
The Mission reached the conclusion that registration was completed
adequately after having made the following observations. Firstly, the high
number of 4,034,595 voters registered compared to an estimated electorate of
4,077,600 suggests that indeed, a high percentage of the electorate
registered.
Secondly, EOM observers noted a significant drop in the demand for voting
cards during the last two days of registration. Furthermore, information
provided by the electoral authorities clearly indicates that a significant
number of registers opened in the final days of registration were not
filled.
Finally, after having met several times with representatives of the
political parties, the Mission noted the general satisfaction of most of
these parties and civil society organisations regarding voter registration.
Nonetheless, the Mission is aware that the registration process was not
without problems. The electoral authorities met with several difficulties in
the transport of materials and the lack of effective communications between
the communal electoral bureaux (BECs) and the registration stations. A
further problem observed was the wastage of electoral materials by
registration station workers who lacked experience in handling the cameras
and films provided. The Mission considers the Provisional Electoral Council
took the necessary measures to resolve these difficulties.
The Mission also noted that an undetermined number of voters registered in
areas other than their residence. In order to avoid tensions related to
this fact on polling day, the Mission urges the Provisional Electoral
Council to make clear public announcements before the elections that each
voter must vote in the place where he or she registered.
The report on registration also looks at the process in the department of
Grande Anse. The Mission observed that registration was completed in an
adequate fashion in 11 of the 12 communes of this department. The EOM
considers that the registration of the majority of the electorate in these
communes has put in place the basic conditions necessary for the electoral
authorities to continue with preparations for the legislative, municipal and
local elections in these 11 communes.
In the report, the EOM evaluates a number of conflictive situations between
local electoral authorities and political parties or civil society
organisations. On the whole, the Mission considers that these incidents
were isolated, and that the departmental electoral bureaux (BEDs) and the
Provisional Electoral Council dealt equitably with them. Finally, the
Mission believes that these local disputes will not have a major effect on
the overall integrity of the electoral process.
This document was prepared by the Electoral Observation Mission from
information gathered by members of the main office in Port-au-Prince as
well as by observers based in the regional offices throughout the country.
The Mission arrived in Haïti on 23 February, at the invitation of the
Haitian Government, and has since then visited 133 of the 135 communes in
the country.
The OAS EOM?s report on the registration process has been made available to
the CEP and to the political parties. The Mission reminds the public that
the observations contained in this report are not official information on
the electoral process in Haiti. The only body qualified to provide such
information is the national electoral authority, the Provisional Electoral
Council (CEP).
For a copy of the entire report, which will be sent by attachment, please
e-mail oeapress@yahoo.com
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