Bolivian election audit begins this Thursday, says foreign minister

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in a new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in a new window)
• Click here to share on LinkedIn (Opens in a new window)
• Click to email a friend (Opens in a new window)

(CNN Spanish) - Bolivian Foreign Minister Diego Pary said that part of the technical team of the Organization of American States, OAS, is already in the country, and that this Thursday begins the audit of the presidential elections on October 20.

At a press conference, Pary said that other members of the OAS commission will arrive in the next few days. Pary added that the audit will begin "complying with the established schedule."

• Audit of elections in Bolivia by the OAS begins this Thursday

The OAS team coordinator, Arturo Espinoza, also participated in the press conference and explained that the audit will take about two weeks. According to Espinoza, the final report will be delivered to the OAS secretariat and said it will also be public.

Answering the question asked by a journalist about the lack of confidence in the audit that some sectors have expressed, Pary asked for respect for the OAS and said that "we cannot say that an international organization is at the service of a Government."

"We hope the audit clarifies these doubts," Pary concluded.

Meanwhile, the Citizen Community alliance reiterated this Thursday its refusal to accept the OAS audit. In a statement, the political group denied the OAS statement that “former president Carlos Mesa would have expressed his agreement” to the recount, but reiterated that “the unchanging position of Carlos Mesa and the Citizen Community is not to accept the aforementioned audit” .

The statement does not deny or confirm that there was a call between representatives of the OAS and Mesa in which the audit was discussed.

• Abece of the protests in Bolivia: who protests, why and what do they ask?

President Evo Morales celebrated the start of the audit of the results of the general elections and assured that "he would not use a State institution to commit fraud."

"That's not what I learned in school or what my parents taught me," Morales said.

Morales criticized that opposition groups reject the audit and report fraud without presenting evidence.

The president also called “intermediate stoppages” and reiterated that his Government wants “peace, social justice and development for the Bolivian people”.

Bolivia Vote 2019