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Preliminary Report of the OAS Electoral Observation Mission in El Salvador

  February 6, 2024

The full Preliminary Report is available here.

The Electoral Observation Mission of the Organization of American States (OAS/EOM), headed by the former Vice President and former Foreign Minister of Panama, Isabel de Saint Malo, congratulates the people of El Salvador on the holding of the presidential and parliamentary elections last Sunday, February 4. The Mission emphasizes that Salvadorans went to the polls on a massive scale and without coercion, both in the national territory and abroad. It also emphasizes that election day took place peacefully and that on election night the Salvadoran people celebrated calmly and without violence. The wide gap between the winning candidate and his opponents leaves no doubt about the election results and coincides with the data collected by the Mission. The OAS/EOM especially highlights the work carried out by the personnel of the voting stations, who in many cases worked for more than 20 hours.

The OAS/EOM comprised 95 observers of 20 different nationalities, who observed the elections in El Salvador's 14 departments. The Mission examined different aspects of the elections, including electoral organization; voting abroad; electoral technology; campaign finance; electoral justice; political participation of women; electoral violence; and campaigns, media, and digital communication. The Mission’s specialists also followed up on the recommendations issued by previous OAS Missions.

The Mission was installed in the country in a staggered manner, starting on January 25, 2024, and met with political actors, electoral and government authorities, candidates, and representatives of civil society organizations to learn about the preparations and their views on the elections. Based on the meetings, analysis of regulations and other documents, and direct observation, the Mission was able to carry out a comprehensive analysis of the electoral process.

BACKGROUND

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The full Preliminary Report is available here.

Reference: S-002/24