EL SALVADOR ELECTIONS: OAS PRE-ELECTION REVIEW AND

UNCLAS SAN SALVADOR 000512 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PTER OAS ES SUBJECT: EL SALVADOR ELECTIONS: OAS PRE-ELECTION REVIEW AND PRE-ELECTION VIOLENCE ¶1. SUMMARY: With 11 days remaining until the election, the Organization of American States (OAS) election monitoring mission has certified voter registration rolls, but still notes problems with the new digital advance vote count system. On a separate front, Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) front organizations have been holding frequent demonstrations, stopping traffic, and occasionally engaging in violence. To date, the police have exercised restraint. END SUMMARY. ¶2. Although the OAS has declared that the voter registration roll is &suitable8, they estimate that five percent of voter registrations are erroneous. Two significant shortcomings are the failure to eliminate the names of the deceased, and the (apparently-inadvertent) inclusion of several children. The OAS has recommended that the GOES engage in an audit of voter registrations before the 2009 elections; Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) President Walter Araujo has promised to audit the rolls before then. ¶3. The TSE had planned to introduce a new digital advance vote count during these elections. The system was originally designed to scan the faxed results from polling stations automatically, preventing alteration of data by precluding data-entry staff from having physical access to the faxed documents. However, the computerized system for distributing the scanned documents is not working, so the TSE has decided to print the scanned documents and manually distribute them to the data-entry staff. The failure of the planned system may likely result in longer processing times, but due to the inherent safeguards of the archived scanned document, will probably result in an equal measure of fraud prevention. ¶4. Pre-election violence and misconduct has been a regular feature of El Salvador, and unfortunately this year is no exception. The FMLN and Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) regularly accuse each other of destruction of campaign materials, violent acts, and intimidation of campaign workers. In one particularly serious incident on January 28, fifteen campaign workers in Apopa were injured in a rock-throwing fight between the FMLN and ARENA. In another incident February 11, activists of the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) and ARENA fought over campaign propaganda. Leaders of all political parties have called for activists to avoid confrontations. ¶5. Violent protests are forbidden by Salvadoran law, but orthodox-hardliner groups affiliated with the FMLN regularly engage in street blockades, tire burning, and armed seizure of public buildings. On February 28, widespread protests were held, nominally in opposition to the March 1 implementation of CAFTA. Four police officers and two civilians were injured by rocks and homemade bombs thrown by a crowd which included members of the Salvadoran Institute of Social Security Workers Union (STISS),General Association of Public and Municipal Employees (AGEPYM),and Revolutionary Union for Social Justice (URJS). Additional protesters associated with the Salvadoran Revolutionary Student Brigade (BRES),National Association of Health and Social Assistance Workers, National Association of Educators (ANDES),and National Vendors Coordination Group (CNV) blocked traffic, damage to property and burned tires, but did not result in serious injuries. Although the FMLN claims they are not behind the protests, banners in memory of Schafik Handal and FMLN promotional apparel are clearly visible in photos of marchers. ¶6. COMMENT: Additional protests occurred March 1; post expects demonstrations to occur regularly until the March 12 elections. Although protests may nominally be staged in the name of CAFTA or healthcare privatization, they appear at heart to be a method of mobilizing the FMLN faithful. According to the Anti-Terrorism Law now pending before the Legislative Assembly, these protests could be labeled as terrorist activities, which is why the FMLN will fight passage of the bill. END COMMENT. Barclay