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Washington, D.C. - In a major development impacting the electoral process, Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson has garnered assurances from the State Department that an international election observation mission will be deployed within the United States to monitor the upcoming Presidential elections. The pledge comes in response to a Congressional letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell, requesting him to make the official request to the United Nations for election observers to monitor this fall’s vote.
“I am pleased that Secretary Powell is as committed as I am to a fair and democratic process,” said Congresswoman Johnson. “The presence of monitors will assure Americans that America cares about their votes and it cares about its standing in the world.”
“We anticipate that once again the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will deploy an election observation mission to the U.S. as it did for the November 5, 2002 elections,” the Department of State wrote the Congresswoman. The letter was authored by Paul V. Kelly, the Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs for the U.S. Department of State. “OSCE members, including the United States, agreed in 1990 in Copenhagen to allow fellow members to observe elections in one another’s countries. Consistent with this commitment, the United States has already invited the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) to observe the November 2, 2004 Presidential Elections.”
The OSCE is the largest regional organization in the world with 55 participating nation-states from Europe, Central Asia and North America. Its membership’s roll comprises a veritable who’s who among nations. Member nations include the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, Greece, Turkey and the Holy See.
In early July Congresswoman Johnson spearheaded an effort in the U.S. House of Representatives requesting the UN to deploy election observers across the United States this November to monitor the 2004 Presidential election. Twelve Members of Congress from across the country joined the Texas lawmaker in signing the letter to Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
“We share with you and your colleagues a profound commitment to strengthening democracy, not only overseas, but also here at home,” the State Department wrote Congresswoman Johnson. “To remain vibrant and strong, democracies must ensure that citizens have the ability to exercise their vote in free, fair, and transparent elections.”
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