GN summer fall09 Digital.indd - National Lawyers Guild

International WorkDelegation monitors El Salvador’s historic electionby Chris Ford, Katie Glynn, SusanScott, and Judy SombergSince as early as the 1980s, theNLG has been engaged in accompanimentwork with the people of El Salvador.Accompaniment has taken manyforms, including: the physical accompanimentof refugees fleeing the bloodycivil war that plagued the nation from1980-1992; the zealous advocacy andrepresentation of Salvadoran asylumseekers who reached the United States;and, in recent years, the monitoring ofEl Salvador’s electoral process.On March 15, 2009, a delegationof 20 Guild members joined severalthousand international observers inmonitoring the presidential electionpolls from set-up to ballot count. Postedat voting centers in San Salvador and inthe state of Sonsonate, Guild memberswere witness to the historic election ofMauricio Funes, candidate of the FaribundoMartí National Liberation Front(FMLN), and to the end of the 20-yearreign of the ultra-rightwing Alianza RepublicanaNacionalista (ARENA) party.During the five days leading up tothe election, Guild members receivedtraining on the mechanics of the votingprocess and learned from various constituenciesthe threats to a transparent election.The identified injustices included:ARENA’s manipulation of and refusal todisclose the voter registry; the bussingin of citizens from neighboring countriesand assigning them voting credentials;the carrying out of political violencewith impunity; the threatening of voterswith termination from employment uponfailure to provide proof of a ballot castfor ARENA; and the politicization of theSupreme Electoral Tribunal.Significantly, the Guild delegationwas able to respond to an overblownmedia campaign regarding thepotential response of the U.S. to anFMLN victory. Guild members held apress conference to protest the amplificationof public statements made byRepublican U.S. Representatives Dana(Above) NLG delegates with Salvadoran colleagues. Photo by Judy Somberg.(Below) FLMN supporters celebrate. Photo by Emily Achtenberg.Rohrbacher and Dan Burton that anFMLN win would result in the end ofthe temporary protected status (TPS) ofthousands of Salvadorans in the U.S., aswell as in the declaration of El Salvadoras a “terrorist state.” Such a designationwould block receipt of the remittancessent home by the Salvadoran populationin the U.S.—funds that constitute a vital18% of El Salvador’s GDP.Guild members demanded thatthe U.S. State Department clearlyand publicly declare the neutrality ofthe U.S. in the Salvadoran electoralprocess as well as its intention to workconstructively with whichever partywon the election. Two days before theelection, the U.S. Charge d’Affaires,Robert Blau, announced that the U.S.would remain neutral, and distanced theObama administration from the threatsof the Republican representatives. Theissue disappeared from the headlines ofthe local print and broadcast media theday before the election.The Guild is proud of its role inpressing the State Department to issuea statement of neutrality. We hope thatour presence as certified observers onElection Day contributed to a climate inwhich people could vote as they wished.Our Salvadoran colleagues reported thatthe presence of international observers,in particular U.S. attorneys, played avital role in protecting the right to freeelections and transparent results. □▪ 13 ▪