International Democracy experts to visit Navajo Nation

Visit part of process monitoring U.S. Election, Take Part in Community Forum

      WINDOW ROCK, AZ—Electoral experts from around the world will be in Window Rock next week as part of an unprecedented international monitoring of the U.S. elections.

      The election monitoring team is traversing the state—from Phoenix to Flagstaff to Window Rock—to investigate issues that may be undermining confidence in the integrity of the U.S. electoral system. The goal of the independent, non-governmental international monitoring of the U.S. elections is to boost voter confidence and participation in this year’s elections.

      Experience in dozens of countries around the world has shown that the presence of outside observers can make a valuable contribution toward building trust in democratic processes and helping ensure fair elections.

      While in Arizona, the international election observers will meet with county voting registrars, talk with community organizations, observe voter registration drives, hold conversations with a range of advocacy organizations, and participate in town hall meetings to get a full picture of Arizonans’ views about democracy in America.

      During the election observers’ time in Arizona, the team will hold a community forum in Window Rock to give local residents a chance to share their opinions about issues surrounding American democracy.

      The forum will occur at 3 to 5 pm on Tuesday, September 21, 2004 at the Navajo Nation Museum auditorium. The forum is open to the public.

      The independent, non-partisan, and non-governmental international monitoring of the U.S. elections is occurring in two phases. The September pre-electoral delegation is investigating a range of issues and then, in October, will release a report detailing its findings and offering recommendations, if any, for reform.

      A second team will be in the U.S. in the days surrounding the November 2 election.

      The four-person monitoring team traveling to Arizona is part of a larger 20-person delegation.

      This week, the entire delegation will first spend four days in Washington, DC meeting with government officials, policy analysts, advocacy organizations, and academics to get an overview of electoral controversies in the U.S. The delegation will then split into five groups to conduct further investigations in Arizona, Georgia, Florida, Missouri, and Ohio.

      The election monitors are coming to the U.S. at the invitation of Fair Election International, a project of the human rights group Global Exchange, which has conducted election monitoring in 10 countries around the world. The election monitors come from a range of professional and political backgrounds.

      All are well known and highly regarded within their own countries. The monitoring team in Arizona includes: • Australian Shanta Martin, an international legal advisor currently working for the Commission for the Verification of Codes of Conduct in Guatemala; • Chilean Dr. Edgardo Condeza Vaccaro, President of Movimiento por Los Derechos y La Consulta Ciudadana, which has played an important role promoting democracy in Chile as a response to the Pinochet dictatorship; • Ghanian Kwesi Addae, founder of Pollwatch Africa, which carries out election monitoring and consulting services to the election commissions of various African countries including Ghana, South Africa, Togo, and Botswana; • Mexican Oscar Gonzalez, a former President of the Mexican Academy of Human Rights and a Mexican diplomat to the United Nations. He is also a member of the advisory board of Alianza Civica, Mexico’s largest civic watchdog organization.

      In the spirit of open inquiry, the monitors are welcome to investigate any issue that attracts their attention. At the same time, U.S. organizers of the monitoring effort are highlighting three subjects that feed controversy about the integrity of the upcoming elections: • Evidence that minority and poor voters are disproportionately disenfranchised; • Deep disagreements over the security of millions of votes recorded on computer voting machines; and • Concerns about the consequences of corporate and personal wealth in political contests.

      To arrange an interview with any of the election monitors or to set up a time to shadow them during their investigations, please contact Tim Kingston at (415) 575-5543.