By Caribbean News Global 
WASHINGTON/ECUADOR – The Electoral Observation Mission of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Ecuador began its final deployment ahead of the February 7 elections, in which the country will elect its president and vice president, 137 Assembly members, and five representatives to the Andean parliament.
“The Mission deployed a technical team in the country on January 14 to monitor aspects such as the implementation of technology and the evolution of the organization of the electoral process. This team will now be joined, in a staggered manner, by the chief of Mission, the former vice president of Panama Isabel de Saint-Malo, and a group of more than 20 experts and observers from 13 nationalities, who will be deployed in the provinces of Manabí, Los Ríos, Azuay, Guayas and Pichincha,” the OAS said in a press release.
The OAS added: “Due to the global health context, the Mission will include the face-to-face and remote participation of experts in electoral organization and technology, political-electoral financing, political participation of women, electoral justice, statistics, computer security and political participation of indigenous peoples, who will also follow up on the recommendations issued in past OAS missions.”
During the Mission’s stay in Ecuador, members will meet with electoral authorities, government officials, representatives of various political forces, and civil society actors.
“After the elections, the OAS Mission will present a preliminary report with its observations and recommendations in order to contribute to the strengthening of the electoral processes in Ecuador.
“This Mission marks the twenty-second time that the OAS has observed an electoral process in Ecuador, and it is possible thanks to the contributions of Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, South Korea, Spain, France, Guatemala, Italy, Mexico, and the Netherlands,” the OAS said.
