Q COSTARICA — On Tuesday, January 29, the Justices of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) received a visit from the Electoral Observation Mission of the Organization of American States (OAS), headed by Mr. Ope Pasquet.
This group of experts will witness the electoral process, and especially the voting on Sunday, February 1st, unfolding within the framework of the law in a peaceful, transparent, and secure manner that guarantees the will expressed at the ballot box.
The delegation is composed of 27 representatives (from 15 different nationalities).
International observation is a guarantee of transparency and one of the important safeguards of the electoral process. The evaluation by this delegation contributes to the strengthening, improvement, and consolidation of Costa Rican democracy.
To carry out this important task, an observation agreement was signed a few days ago between the President of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), Eugenia Zamora Chavarría, and the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Albert R. Ramdin.
In this agreement, the TSE guarantees the group of international specialists security, free access to information, freedom of movement within the national territory, and access to the electoral body’s facilities, as well as to polling stations (throughout the entire day, including the opening of the polling stations and, if they deem it appropriate, observation of the preliminary count).
The OAS representatives must act with impartiality, objectivity, and independence. Furthermore, they may immediately inform the TSE of any irregularities that may occur during the observation process. Finally, the international organization will send a copy of its final report on the work carried out in the country to the electoral body, which will then be presented to the Plenary of the Organization of American States.
The agreement is valid for the purposes of a possible second round of voting.