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<p align=center style='text-align:center'><em><i><font size=2 color=black
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<p><font size=1 color="#993300" face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;
font-family:Arial;color:#993300'>This is the first of a four
updates-in-brief about the Salvadoran presidential elections of 15March2009
from CISPES. CISPES is currently receiving reports from independent
election observers stationed throughout El Salvador who are reporting back
and helping us compile information on the electoral process, reports of
fraud, irregularities etc. For more information, and if you have not
done so already, visit the CISPES blog, which will be updated frequently
throughout the day and into the evening.</span></font><b><font size=2
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<h1 style='margin-left:.5in'><b><font size=5 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Election Day unfolds with voter
turnout; observers report various irregularities<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'> The polls opened to the public at 7AM this morning
and since then citizens have been turning out to vote en masse. By
9AM, 750 of the 4,700 registered voters in Jutiapa, Cabañas, had already
voted and many of the tables had lines of 50 people or more. Both
presidential candidates, Mauricio Funes of the FMLN and Rodrigo Ávila of
ARENA, voted at their respective centers this morning. Most of the voting
tables in the country opened on time and, according to FMLN Magistrate on
the Supreme Electoral Tribunal Eugenio Chicas, “I am observing that
there’s a climate of peace and civic celebration that invites people
to participate.” <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>International Observers have reported various irregularities
throughout the morning. In the <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Estadio</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Flor</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Blanca</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Voting</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Center</st1:PlaceType>—where
Salvadorans who received ID cards (DUIs) in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region> are voting—the room
storing extra ballots was found filled with water, in an apparent sabotage.
The boxes of ballots were stacked on the floor and all got wet. Many
denouncements of foreigners with DUIs have also been received. Throughout
the department of <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San Salvador</st1:place></st1:City>,
as well as in the interior of the country, busses were observed
transporting Nicaraguans and Hondurans to government buildings. Trucks of
mattresses then arrived, presumably in order to house the foreigners in
these buildings. In Tejutepeque, Cabañas, a bus arrived at the <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Voting</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Center</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> and citizens reported that
Nicaraguans with DUIs were on the bus and intending to vote. A group of
observers responded and arrived at the bus to take photos and ask
questions. At this point, the bus left and the supposed Nicaraguans did not
vote.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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style='font-size:18.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
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</span></font><span class=style21><font size=2 color=white><span
style='font-size:10.0pt'>© 2008 CISPES - The Committee in Solidarity with
the People of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">El
Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place></span></font></span><font
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