Further condemnation of campaign use of state resources

A SECOND group has added its voice to the harshly worded report of the OAS team over the use of state resources in the election campaign.

The International Republican Institute (IRI) also observed what the OAS described as blatant practices, practices and has suggested that the next government promote a series of electoral reforms..

"It is necessary to clarify the participation of the president in and other officials, in campaigns, as well as the participation of relatives in the campaigns" highlights says the IRI,report. The IRI is a group associated with the US Republican Party and is a conservative organization.
It also lauded Panama for its high voter participation of 75 percent. But chiefly focused on electoral abuses "Leaving aside that positive, there are aspects surrounding the campaign and the electoral process which need to be addressed, such as the use of public funds for partisan purposes, a rule of the campaign which wasconstantly broken," said the IRI.
The delegation was formed by Piero Alessando Corvetto, director of the Electoral Registry of Peru; Luis Fortuño, former governor of Puerto Rico; Luis Carlos Ugalde, president of the Federal Electoral Institute of Mexico and current director of the consulting firm Integralia; Stephen Johnson, director of programs for Latin America and the Caribbean of IRI, and Patricio Gajardo, director of IRI in Mexico.
The IRI partnered with the Commission of Justice and Peace, which deployed some 2,000 local observers for the election.
The mission was funded by the United States Department of State.reports La Prensa.