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<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=5
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Tensions
as Municipal and Legislative Campaigns Close in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place><o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>CISPES Electoral update<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>January 16, 2009<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><i><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold;
font-style:italic'>(Check out frequent updates about the January 18 elections!
all day long at <a href="http://www.cispes.org/09electionsblog">www.cispes.org/09electionsblog</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></font></i></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><i><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold;
font-style:italic'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></i></b></p>
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size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><i><span
style='font-style:italic'>Also in this update:<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></font></p>
<ul style='margin-top:0in' type=disc>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-list:l0 level1 lfo3'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><a
href="#_Honduran_citizens_found">Honduran citizens found in voter registry
in San Isidro Cabañas</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-list:l0 level1 lfo3'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><a
href="#_National_Democratic_Institute">National Democratic Institute to
assist with “quick count” of election results</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></li>
</ul>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Thursday, January 14, marked the end of the campaigns for legislative
and municipal offices in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>.
The Electoral Code mandates that all political parties cease their campaign
activities three days before Salvadorans cast their votes to elect the
country’s 262 mayors and 84 legislative deputies. Election Day is this
Sunday, January 18.<b><i><span style='font-weight:bold;font-style:italic'><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>The capital city of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">San
Salvador</st1:City></st1:place>, site of a highly contested mayoral race, has
been the scene of much political violence in this electoral period. On January
12, ARENA party activists threw rocks at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">San
Salvador</st1:City></st1:place> mayor Violeta Menjivar and members of her
contingent during a campaign stop along Alameda Roosevelt, one of the
city’s main streets. In the midst of the resulting skirmish,
Menjivar’s campaign procession came under gunfire. The attack resulted in
four people being hospitalized.<b><span style='font-weight:bold'><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><br>
After the incident, Menjivar, who is campaigning for a second term as executive
of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s
largest city, called for a stop to the political violence and asked
international observers to condemn the attack. “These people are armed
and they are [ARENA candidate Norman] Quijano’s activists,”
Menjivar stated. Menjivar’s campaign has submitted an official
complaint to the Attorney General’s office and is demanding a full
investigation of the incident. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<h3><a name="_Honduran_citizens_found"></a><b><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>Honduran
citizens found in voter registry in San Isidro Cabañas<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h3>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>On
January 12, the mayoral candidates of four parties in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">municipality</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San Isidro
Cabañas</st1:PlaceName></st1:place> presented a formal, joint complaint to
the TSE after discovering Honduran citizens listed in the town’s voter
rolls. The candidates for the FMLN, PDC, PCN, and CD parties met with TSE
representatives to present their evidence, and have also taken their case to
international observers from the Organization of American States.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The
candidates suspect current San Isidro Cabañas Mayor José Ignacio Bautista of
enabling Hondurans to illegally gain access to the electoral registry. TSE
President Araujo responded to the complaint by stating that the four candidates
should not “abuse their freedom of speech” by making such
accusations.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Two days
earlier, on Saturday, January 10, The National Civilian Police arrested a
Nicaraguan citizen in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">San Salvador</st1:City></st1:place>
while he was distributing a bulletin entitled "La Prensa Evangélica,"
which was crafted to urge Salvadoran readers not to vote for the FMLN.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Francisco
Serrano, an ARENA supporter who is pastor of the <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Evangelical</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Methodist</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Church</st1:PlaceType>
in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">San Salvador</st1:City></st1:place>
has been accused of hiring the man. Such actions would be a violation of
Article 292 of El Salvador’s Electoral Code, which states:
"Immigrants are not allowed to participate directly or indirectly in political
activity.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<h3><a name="_National_Democratic_Institute"></a><b><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>National
Democratic Institute to assist with “quick count” of election
results<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h3>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>El Salvador</span></font></st1:country-region></st1:place>’s
2009 elections have awakened the interest of the international community, as
the leftist FMLN party has the potential to win a greater number of
municipalities and legislative seats on January 18, and is poised to win the
presidency for the first time on March 15. Among other international
organizations already in the country, the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place> government-affiliated National
Democratic Institute (NDI) is working along with the Public Opinion Institute
of the University of Central America (IUDOP) to observe this electoral process.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>In December, El Salvador’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE)
signed an agreement with IUDOP, which will observe some 2,000 voting tables
around the country on Election Day and carry out a “quick count”
that will provide preliminary election results. According to <i><span
style='font-style:italic'>La Prensa Grafica</span></i>, the quick count will be
carried out with the “technical cooperation” of the NDI. After the
polls close, IUDOP observers, who are students and employees of the UCA, will
monitor the vote count at the 2,000 polling tables, which have been selected as
a representative sample of nationwide voting. The results from these 2,000
voting sites will be compiled and released publically soon after the polls
close. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>This is the first time that <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place> will utilize a quick
count system. The TSE has implemented the initiative as a means of providing an
accurate estimation of election results before the official results are
available, raising concerns about the Tribunal’s ability to produce its
own official results in a timely manner. Similar programs were used in recent
elections in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Guatemala</st1:country-region> and <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Nicaragua</st1:country-region></st1:place>,
also with assistance from the NDI. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Despite increased use of the quick count program in Central America,
the NDI’s parent organization, the National Endowment for Democracy, has
been accused of attempts to destabilize democratically elected governments in
other countries in recent years, including <st1:country-region w:st="on">Venezuela</st1:country-region>
and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Bolivia</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Meanwhile, the TSE has carried out three preliminary tests of its
system for transmitting some 10,000 official vote count documents via fax from
the voting centers to the institution’s election headquarters. All three
tests were marred by serious delays and other technical problems, raising
doubts about the TSE’s ability to produce official election results to
the public in a timely manner. According to Walter Araujo, President of the TSE
and representative of the right wing ARENA party, “the problems with the
transmission are technical” issues that can be resolved. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>However, many Salvadorans fear that lengthy delays in releasing
official results, accompanied by the TSE’s demonstrated lack of
transparency, could be a sign of behind the scenes fraud. These fears are
amplified by the experience of the 2006 mayoral race in San Salvador, which
ended with FMLN candidate Violeta Menjívar winning by only 44 votes after three
days of recounts and political maneuvering.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>--------------<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>Don’t forget to check out
CISPES’s elections day blog: </span></font><i><span style='font-style:
italic'><a href="http://www.cispes.org/09electionsblog">www.cispes.org/09electionsblog</a></span></i></b><b><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:
bold'><o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
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