El Salvador Election Observation Report from CISPES
Presidential Elections, March 15, 2009
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Introduction
Members ofthe Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES) took partin the Misión de Observación Internacional (MOI) to monitor the presidential elections in El Salvador on March 15th, 2009. Theseelections were between the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN)candidate Mauricio Funes and the Nationalist Republican Alliance party (ARENA)candidate Rodrigo Ávila. The MOI was accredited by the Supreme ElectoralTribunal (TSE) and observed the entire Election Day process, from theinstallation of the voting tables to the final vote count. CISPES membersobserved in the departments of SanSalvador, La Unión, Cabañas and San Miguel. Observersmonitored the electoral campaign and studied electoral laws and regulations inthe weeks and months leading up to Election Day. During the week before thevote, CISPES members met with civil society organizations, internationalorganizations such as the European Union (EU) and the Organization of AmericanStates (OAS), and government agencies such as the Human Rights Procurator’sOffice (PDDH).
This reportprovides the results of CISPES' direct observation of the electoral process onthe day of the vote and an analysis of the multiple factors that we believestill prevent the country from achieving a fully free and transparentdemocratic process. This report is divided into the following sections:
SectionI: Pre-Electoral Obstacles
A. U.S.Election Intervention
B.Threats and Employer Pressure
C. Supreme Electoral Tribunal Fraud
D. Public Funds Used Con Propositos Partidarios
E. TheUse of Media
SectionII: Our Observations
A. Institutional Problems
B. Polling Place Problems
C. Successes
SectionIII: Recommendations