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#3703: OAS Interim report on electoral process (fwd)
From: Mary Durran <durranmary@hotmail.com>
Here follows a summary of the OAS' EOM's interim report on the electoral
process. If you wish to receive the entire report by attachment, please
contact oeapress@yahoo.com
The Legislative, Municipal and Local Electoral Process in Haiti
Interim Report of the Electoral Observation Mission
of the Organization of American States
May, 2000
Executive Summary
The following is an interim report of the OAS Electoral Observation Mission
in Haiti. The Mission arrived in late February and established an office in
Port-au-Prince and five regional offices. The observations and conclusions
in this report are based on numerous interviews with the different actors in
the process and first hand observations.
Despite many setbacks over the last year, the Mission report concludes that
the CEP has accomplished the major tasks necessary to succesfully conduct
legislative, municipal and local elections, scheduled for May 21, 2000. In
order for these elections to take place, however, the Government, electoral
institutions, political parties and civil society must each assume their
responsibilities and work closely together.
The report notes the many delays in this process have had a deleterious
effect on the campaign. The failure of the CEP to respect its deadlines and
its lack of middle management caused operational problems, which negatively
affected the its image of professionalism. Additionally, the Government?s
role in these delays has led some to question its commitment to the timely
and transparent conduct of these elections.
In this interim report, the Mission reiterates its conclusion that most of
those eligible voters who wished to register were able to do so. The report
details the many problems of this process, including a lack of
communication, transportation and materials. In addition to registration,
the report analyzes other important electoral preparations completed and
pending. It notes that candidate registration was successfully completed
with some 29,500 candidates registering for an estimated 7,500 positions.
The CEP has also completed the identification of the 11,238 Bureaux de Vote.
As of May 17, however, there was growing concern that many of these
polling sites had not been well identified or may not be as close to the
registration center as stipulated in the electoral law. The uncertainty of
the exact location of the polling centers could cause crowd control and
logistical problems on Election Day.
Some political parties allege that their candidates for poll workers have
been excluded. The Mission is conscious that the exclusion of certain
political parties from the composition of the BVs could cause undue
suspicion and uncertainty on Election Day. While the law requires an
equitable distribution of party representatives at the BVs, the Mission
believes that the objectivity of the poll worker is more important than his
or her political affiliation.
Among the pending tasks, the training of the BV workers was unnecesarily
delayed by one week following the decision of the CEP to change the format
of the tally sheets even after training had already begun. The Mission also
expressed concern about the distribution and security of the electoral
materials.
The OAS report reviews how a crisis developed in the Grande Anse as a result
of a struggle between two political tendencies for control of the electoral
apparatus in the department. While it appears that much more could have
been done at an earlier date, the Mission believes that the current
political solution can provide the framework in which the citizens of this
department can exercise their franchise on May 21 with the rest of the
country.
The report also expresses the EOM?s grave concern about the numerous violent
incidents during the campaign that have created a climate of fear and which
could threaten voter participation. The Mission regrets that the Haitian
National Police did not do more to stop the violent incidents, particularly
the aggressive demonstrations that took place from March 26 to 28 in
Port-au-Prince and the arson attack on the Espace de Concertation
headquarters on April 8.
The present electoral situation has also illustrated the fragility of
progress observed in recent years in the domain of liberty of the press,
according to the Mission?s observations. The report sets out a worrying
toll of violations of these freedoms, including the murder of Jean Dominique
and threats and intimidation against journalists during the electoral
campaign. Journalists from Radio Vision 2000 in hiding, an AFP photographer
forced to hand over a film of road blocks in La Saline to the thugs at the
barricades and correspondents in Gonaïves threatened by an anonymous flier
are some of the violations of press freedoms documented in the report. The
Mission also applauds the efforts made by private sector media to educate
the public about the issues at stake in the absence of an official civic
education campaign.
The Mission reiterates the key role of national observers in these
elections, but at the same time expresses its concern regarding the numerous
problems of finances and internal divisions facing the National Observation
Council. The report encourages the CEP to continue the process of
accreditation of observers before polling day, and allow them access to
electoral offices nationwide. Moreover, it is of vital importance that the
CEP communicates directives on this matter to the BECs and the BEDs and
ultimately to the BVs.
Despite all the difficulties observed, credible legislative, municipal and
local elections are still possible in Haiti on May 21, the report concludes.
It is now incumbent on political parties, civil society, the media and the
Government to work together towards this common goal.
With this goal in mind, the Mission included the following recommendations
in the interim report:
· The CEP should facilitate communication with the departmental and communal
bureaux to clarify any uncertainties that might arise;
· The CEP should ensure an adequate system to re-direct voters in cases
where polling booths have been moved away from the original registration
stations;
· Political parties must take on an important role in prevention of violence
and avoid making premature declarations regarding the result of the vote;
· The Government and the Haitian National Police must assume their
responsibilities in the provision of security during the polling, the
transport of ballots and the vote tally in the BECs and BEDs;
· All sectors should respect the rights of journalists to carry out their
work without intimidation or violence; the media must also exercise
objectivity and independence in its reports;
· The electoral authorities must allow national observers access to
observation; in turn, the latter must report their findings free of bias.
As it has since its arrival, the EOM offers its good offices to achieve the
common goal of peaceful and transparent elections that accurately reflect
the will of the Haitian people.
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