Bolivia: report on electoral observation

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

First, we express our thanks for the convening of this special meeting of the Permanent Council and for the presentations by the ministers of the Plurinational State of Bolivia.

Distinguished colleagues, the Dominican Republic takes this opportunity to bear witness to our experience over recent decades with electoral observation missions (EOMs). We also wish to share our view of the joint processes we have carried out with the Organization's Secretariat for Strengthening Democracy (SSD).

Without wishing to weary you, and only in order to establish our standing as a habitual user of these mechanisms, allow me to list the years in which we have held presidential, congressional and local elections in our country since the transition to democracy: 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2016 and 2020.

Ladies and gentlemen, in each of those seventeen elections, our young but vigorous democracy has had the Electoral Observation Missions of the Organization of American States (OAS), an instrument for strengthening and defending democratic values and principles. Through them, the positive recognition of political rights has been palpable, especially the right to vote as the legitimate means by which citizens elect and are elected in a meaningful, free and transparent way, along with respect for the popular will expressed by citizens at the ballot box.

For us, electoral observation has also represented the solidarity and support of the inter-American community for the efforts democratic institutions undertake in organizing and administering their electoral processes. The evolution of the missions in sophistication, standardized procedures and professionalism has been evident to us.

Distinguished colleagues, in the process of perfecting our democracy, the EOMs have been companions in solidarity in our country's electoral contests and key actors at critical junctures, as, for example, during the elections of 1978, when former Presidents Galo Plaza of Ecuador, Misael Pastrana Borrero of Colombia and Julio César Méndez Montenegro of Guatemala played a vital role in resolving the electoral conflict that arose in that election.

The same happened at two other moments of crisis: the elections of 1994 and the failed municipal elections of 2020. In the first case, the OAS and its Chief of Mission, John Graham, played a leading role in achieving agreements that allowed our political class to channel its differences, correct mistakes and adjust our institutions to ever more transparent and inclusive methods. The second turning point came only last year, when it proved impossible to carry out the municipal electoral process with new automated technologies. Faced with the impasse, we turned to the OAS to get the processes back on track and to determine what had happened.

The rapid response of the General Secretariat to the request of our electoral body made it possible to establish the facts, identify opportunities for improvement and reorganize those elections in a very short time, thus avoiding, with the pandemic already upon us, any breach of our constitutional order. It is for all these reasons that the Dominican Republic values, appreciates and is grateful for the singular positive contribution that electoral observation missions represent. Without doubt, electoral observation missions have contributed to the consolidation of democratic values and to the development of electoral institutions and practices more in keeping with a social and democratic State governed by the rule of law, and to raising the awareness of the Dominican population about the quality of the electoral democracy to which we aspire.

Finally, we view with sympathy any initiative, present or future, that seeks to strengthen them, to equip them with greater capacities and to broaden assistance and cooperation to States in their permanent quest to perfect their political systems, for the good of all their citizens.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.