USA / GUATEMALA – The Electoral Observation Mission of the Organization of American States (OAS) is already deploying in Guatemala for the general elections on June 25, in which the president and vice president of the Republic, mayors, and the seats in the national, district parliaments, and the Central American Parliament will be elected.
The Electoral Mission, headed by the former foreign minister of Paraguay Eladio Loizaga, is made up of 91 specialists and observers from 20 countries, and is monitoring aspects such as electoral organization, technology and justice, electoral violence, political financing, the political participation of women, and the political participation of indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples.
During their deployment in Guatemala, the members of the Mission will meet again with electoral and government authorities, political leaders, and representatives of civil society and the international community, which will allow them to continue their analysis of the ongoing electoral process.
Next Sunday, election day, they will visit polling stations in all the country’s departments to learn about the development of election day, from the installation of the polling stations to the transmission of the results.
Prior to its deployment, the OAS Mission made two preliminary visits to the country, in which it met with different authorities from the country, political parties, and other actors to discuss the development of the ongoing electoral process at the national and local levels. In addition, the OAS technical team compiled information on the development of the process, both at the national and departmental levels, and observed the simulations of the information program for the transmission of preliminary results.
After these general elections, the OAS Mission will present a preliminary report with its observations and recommendations.
This is the 21st time that the OAS has deployed a Mission to observe electoral processes in Guatemala, and it is possible thanks to financial contributions from Canada, Spain, the United States, Italy, the Netherlands, Panama, Peru, and Switzerland.
