International Observers
Will Be Monitoring TLC
Vote
Some 100 international
observers invited by the
Tribunal Supremo de
Elecciones (TSE) will be
keeping an eye on the
referendum voting
process on Sunday.
Luis Antonio Sobrado,
president of the TSE,
welcome the arrival of
the observers last night
that is headed by
ambassador Paul Durán
and tomorrow will be
joined by the arrival of
José Miguel Insulza,
secretary general of the
Organization of American
States (OAS).
According to Sobrado,
the presence of the
international observers
guarantees transparency
of the voting process
that Costa Ricans will
be asked to decide in
favour or against the
Tratado de Libre
Comercio (TLC) - free
trade agreement with the
United States.
Sobrado said that the
presence of the
observers is very
special in Latin America
and ensures that the
voting process occurs
normally.
The observers will be
leaving Costa Rica after
the vote on Sunday, but
may be asked to return
if a manual vote count
is necessary, Sobrado
said.
Sobrado added that all
indications point to
close results between
the "Si" and "No", which
will complicate the
process of counting the
votes.
"The manual scrutiny of
the votes will mean a
new test for the
Tribunal. We are
prepared, we a solid and
tested institution for
the last 60 years and
true example for Latin
America", said Sobrado.
The TSE head said that
the manual count of all
votes will take about 15
days - working 10 hours
a day - headed by three
TSE judges and two
alternates. In addition,
the manual vote count
will be watched over by
appointees of the
political parties.
In addition, Sobrado
said that the TSE will
broadcast live in
totality on cable
television the manual
vote count, as well as
on the internet at
www.tse.go.cr.
This will be the first
time the TSE will
broadcast live a manual
vote count in the hope
to increase the
monitoring the process
and dissipate any doubts
that can be rise from a
close vote. |
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