|
|
Organisation des États Américains
www.oas.org
Communiqué de presse E-078-04
6 mai 2004
PRIME MINISTER OF HAITI’S TRANSITIONAL GOVERNMENT
ASKS FOR OAS ELECTION SUPPORT
Gérard Latortue, the Prime Minister of Haiti’s transitional government, told
the Organization of American States (OAS) Permanent Council today that a
major task of his government is preparing to hold “free, fair, open and
democratic elections.”
Citing Article 23 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, he expressed the
hope that the OAS, and its Special Mission in Haiti, would assist by
providing “advisory services or assistance for strengthening and developing
their electoral institutions and processes, including sending preliminary
missions for that purpose.”
Prime Minister Latortue also pledged to do all that is humanly possibly to
help Haitians learn to live together once again. “My government is doing
everything it can to ensure all sectors of society are engaged in the
democratic process,” he asserted.
Latortue welcomed the UN Security Resolution 1542 emphasis on a role for the
OAS and CARICOM in promoting economic and social development in Haiti. That
emphasis, he noted, “fits perfectly with my government’s perspective on the
importance of regional and sub-regional cooperation.”
In his welcoming remarks, the Permanent Council’s Chairman, Ambassador
Miguel Ruiz-Cabañas of Mexico, underscored the Council’s “unanimous”
sentiments—despite concerns—in favor of helping Haiti, a founding OAS member,
at this particularly difficult juncture in its history.
OAS Assistant Secretary General Luigi Einaudi pointed to the importance of
all parties having the freedom to organize and compete in elections. He
stated, “To help solve the political challenges arising out of the May 2000
elections, the OAS exhorted the Government of Haiti, continuously, to spare
no effort to guarantee the effective participation of all the country’s
political currents. We repeat that exhortation today.”
****** |
