SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – The Electoral Observation Mission (EOM) of the Organization of American States (OAS) for the extraordinary general presidential, senatorial and deputation elections in the Dominican Republic arrived today in Santo Domingo to begin the field observation tasks for elections on Sunday, July 5.
The Mission, made up of more than 80 experts and observers from 18 nationalities, is headed by former Chilean president Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, who, due to the travel restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, is monitoring the process from Santiago de Chile using virtual platforms to dialogue with the main actors of the election. The OAS secretary for strengthening democracy, Francisco Guerrero, leads the Mission on the ground.
Given the challenges posed by the global health situation, the Mission will combine experts and observers present in the country with some of its specialists working remotely. The EOM will deploy a team of more than 70 people in the country, made up of OAS officials, specialists in electoral organization and technology, and international observers residing in the Dominican Republic, who will observe the process in the different provinces of the country. International observers have been selected through a competitive process and have no political ties, in order to guarantee their neutrality. The EOM will also have observers in Madrid, Miami and New York, who will monitor the voting of Dominicans living abroad.
Specialists in women’s political participation, political financing, electoral justice, and other members of the Mission who carry out support tasks are working from their home countries. Since last week, these specialists have initiated meetings with the different actors of the elections through virtual platforms.
This will be the eighteenth electoral observation mission that the OAS has deployed in the Dominican Republic.
Following the elections, the EOM/OAS will present a preliminary report with its observations and recommendations in order to contribute to the strengthening of the electoral processes in the Dominican Republic.
