OAS MONITORING DOCUMENTS A FREE AND FAIR SECOND

UNCLAS LIMA 002314

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR WHA/AND, USOAS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL OAS PE
SUBJECT: OAS MONITORING DOCUMENTS A FREE AND FAIR SECOND
ROUND ELECTION, BUT WITH SOME NEED FOR FINE TUNING

REF: LIMA 1549

Sensitive But Unclassified, Please Handle Accordingly

See Action Request Paragraph Nine


1. (SBU) SUMMARY. As was the case in April, Lloyd Axworthy
provided energetic and skillful leadership to the OAS
monitoring mission in Peru. In a private meeting on 6/6,
Axworthy told the Ambassador that his final report, although
generally positive, would highlight the need for better GOP
interagency coordination, better accommodation of rural
voters, and more effective campaign finance law enforcement.
He said he would call upon the OAS General Assembly to
address the Venezuelan intervention issue. Our Embassy
observers were impressed with the free and fair climate in
which the elections took place. There are still some
lingering concerns about the internal organization of the OAS
monitoring effort. END SUMMARY.


2. (U) As in the first round, Former Canadian Foreign
Minister Lloyd Axworthy was an exemplary leader of the OAS
mission. He thoroughly reviewed the preparations by Peruvian
electoral authorities for conducting the second round; called
on the candidates to keep their supporters in check and
dispense with violent tactics; traveled to Arequipa and Cusco
to urge calm and control in the pre-electoral period; and
condemned "declarations regarding (Peru's) electoral process
coming from foreign countries" (read Venezuela) as being
totally contrary to OAS norms.


3. (U) Prior to his press appearance on 6/6, Axworthy invited
the Ambassador to a private briefing for a preview of what he
would be highlighting in public statements and his report to
the Permanent Council. He opened by thanking our Embassy for
turning out so many enthusiastic monitors, expressing
particular appreciation for our coverage of the provinces.


4. (SBU) Axworthy said that his written report would be
submitted to the Permanent Council in 2-3 weeks. He said his
findings would validate the institutional improvements that
have occurred in Peru's electoral oversight institutions in
the past five years. Problem areas that would be highlighted
are the need:

--for better coordination between the two oversight bodies
(JNE and ONPE);

--to better accommodate rural voters. (That would require,
Axworthy said, moving away from a one-day election at least
in remote areas.)

--for a more effective way to enforce campaign financing
laws. The OAS may need to strengthen the Unit for Democracy
capabilities to help in this area.


5. (SBU) Axworthy said he would call upon the OAS General
Assembly to address the Venezuelan intervention issue. He
would be raising the problem in his report to the Permanent
Council also, saying he might get his hand slapped for it.
If the OAS is committed to the principals of the Democratic
Charter, he said, it must be committed to dealing with this
issue also. One of the OAS professional staff interjected
that Peru's regional/municipal elections in November will
effectively become the third round of national elections.
Chavez will almost certainly pump money into them as well,
and of course the same problem is occuring in Nicaragua and
Mexico. The problem will be even worse in regional/mayoral
races because there is no second round and a one vote
advantage will give a candidate the post.


6. (U) At the Embassy level, our group of volunteers for the
OAS monitoring mission was not as large as last time (33
people vs. 40 for the first round). Nevertheless, we were
able to deploy an important contingent of 14 individuals to
sites outside of Lima, employing both State and AID funding.


7. (U) The Embassy observers agreed unanimously that the
elections took place in a free and fair climate, without
signs of undue interference. Minor irregularities were noted
in some locations -- for example, party representatives
attempting to display information or symbols supporting their
candidates. In the instances our representatives observed,
these situations were resolved quickly and efficiently by
electoral officials.


8. (SBU) Although the OAS observation mission was on the
whole better administered this time, Embassy monitors still
had some concerns about the organization of the OAS effort.
In one northern department, the OAS coordinator had not

researched or mapped out the location of polling places the
volunteers were expected to visit, resulting in wasted time
because of an inefficient route of visits to election sites.
In Lima, our volunteers also felt that the routing of
observers was put together in an unsatisfactory, improvised
fashion, and that the instructions from the OAS coordinator
were unclear with regard to the information that should be
conveyed in spot reports in the course of the day.


9. (U) Embassy requests that as appropriate, USOAS bring this
feedback on the organization of the monitoring mission to the
attention of officials in the Secretariat for appropriate
follow-up action.
STRUBLE