OAS Organization of American States : to Observe Presidential Elections in Costa Rica

Photonews

OAS to Observe Presidential Elections in Costa Rica

January 24, 2018

Photo: OAS

The Organization of American States (OAS) will observe the February 4 presidential elections in Costa Rica, according to the agreement signed today in Washington DC by the OAS Assistant Secretary General and the Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the OAS.

The Permanent Representative of Costa Rica, Rogelio Sotela, highlighted the role that the Organization plays in supporting member states to consolidate their democracies, in this case on electoral issues. 'For Costa Rica and its democratic tradition, it's a pleasure to have the OAS Electoral Observation Mission. We have always valued participation in this type of mission, and in this opportunity it will once again be a mission that will show the democratic transparency of Costa Rica to the world,' Ambassador Sotela said.

For his part, the OAS Assistant Secretary General, Nestor Méndez, noted the strength of Costa Rica's democratic institutions and recalled that the Organization has observed a dozen elections in the Central American country. 'In 1962, Costa Rica was the first member state in which the OAS deployed an Electoral Observation Mission. Since then, 12 elections have been observed in the country,' he said.

Former Colombian President Andrés Pastrana will be the head of the Mission, which aims to contribute to the strengthening of the electoral processes in the hemisphere.

Reference: FNE-73136