SOLIS ALLEGES "SERIOUS ANOMALIES AND VIOLATIONS"

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SAN JOSE 000410 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS FOR WHA/CEN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL CS SUBJECT: SOLIS ALLEGES "SERIOUS ANOMALIES AND VIOLATIONS" IN THE VOTING REF: SAN JOSE 359 Summary -------------- ¶1. (U) On the eve of finishing the recount of presidential ballots (and Oscar Arias returning to the lead),rival Otton Solis cried foul in a televised address to all Costa Ricans. Solis claimed "serious anomalies and violations" in the voting but did not make a direct accusation of fraud. He urged that the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) take another week to resolve all outstanding questions and called on Arias to support his demand. Arias dismissed Solis's request, and the TSE issued a communique refuting the "facts" presented by Solis. TSE magistrate Luis Antonio Sobrado said on radio February 22 that it was "legally unacceptable" for the TSE to delay the announcement of the winner, which is likely to occur early in the week of February 27. End Summary. Televised Address -------------- ¶2. (U) In a nationally televised address at 8:00 pm on February 21, presidential candidate Otton Solis claimed "serious anomalies and violations of the electoral law, and grave inconsistencies" in the manual vote count--particularly with regard to the results of the 712 voting tables that did not properly report on election day. Solis alleged that 5,000 ballots were missing and that the results of another 100 voting stations were suspect because the voters' signature-list (padron electoral) was missing. ¶3. (U) In his address, which lasted five minutes and was financed by his Citizens' Action Party (PAC),Solis made a number of veiled threats and challenged National Liberation Party (PLN) candidate Oscar Arias to support the demand for a reexamination of the results of the 712 voting tables, "for the tranquillity and social peace of the country." He said the TSE would need another week to resolve the outstanding questions. Solis ended his address by suggesting that if his request is denied, the result would be gridlock. He asked rhetorically: "If we can't agree on electoral transparency, what can we agree on?" TSE Responds SIPDIS -------------- ¶4. (U) In a departure from previous practice, the TSE responded immediately and forcefully to Solis's allegations. In a written statement published shortly after Solis's TV address, the TSE specifically rejected the allegations that 5,000 votes had disappeared and that 100 voters' signature lists had been misplaced. The TSE pointed out that the voters' signature lists can be and, in some cases, were replaced by legally equivalent documents. The TSE also reminded the PAC that demands for recounts can only be based on evidence, not conjecture or speculation. TSE Magistrate Luis Antonio Sobrado said on radio February 22 that it was "legally unacceptable" for the TSE to delay the announcement of a winner. PLN Accuses PAC of "Playing With Fire" -------------- ¶5. (U) Arias also rejected Solis's demands. He noted that PAC was represented during the counting of votes at the 712 voting tables in question and signed off on the results. He said: "It is the TSE that resolves this issue, and I have complete confidence in its decisions and in the integrity of its members." PLN president Francisco Antonio Pacheco was more emphatic on radio on February 22, saying that the rules for counting votes cannot be determined by the candidates; they are in the law and have been respected for the last six decades. He accused the PAC of trying to undermine the TSE only because it is unhappy with the results. In so doing, Pacheco said, PAC is doing great harm to Costa Rica's reputation. He said that those who call into question the electoral process in Costa Rica are unpatriotic, are attempting to destabilize the country, and are "playing with fire." Arias Now Winning -------------- ¶6. (U) At the time of Solis's address, the count was 95.9 percent complete with Arias leading by 10,275 votes. His lead is likely to increase because the remaining 4.1 percent of votes still to be counted are from the province of Limon, where Arias is favored. PLN representative in the TSE Fernando Berrocal predicted that Arias will win by approximately 15,000 votes. The TSE may finish the manual recount on February 22 but must address all outstanding complaints and wait three days before making the official results known. Currently there are 565 complaints to be addressed. Comment -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Solis's complaints are not new, but until now he has let his surrogates cast aspersions on the electoral process. His personal and very public criticism of the TSE raised the ante substantially. He is betting that his supporters will call into question the outcome of the election and try to delegitimize and weaken Oscar Arias. We believe Solis has overplayed his hand and has failed to calculate Costa Ricans' high esteem for and trust in the TSE. Unless Solis can point to some credible evidence of fraud, or errors of such magnitude that they affected the outcome, the election for him has been lost. He may have done better for himself to appear magnanimous and congratulate the winner, rather than go down whining. LANGDALE