Martin Meehan: “I just returned from El Salvador, where I was an official observer in this weekend's elections. I was impressed by the…”

“I just returned from El Salvador, where I was an official observer in this weekend's elections. I was impressed by the fact that parties from across the political spectrum cooperated closely at the polling places I visited. The absence of violence was remarkable considering that they were fighting each other in a bitter civil war only 2 years ago. There were, however, problems with the elections. An undetermined number of voters never received registration cards, and I saw many people turned away from the polls because their names did not appear on official lists even though they had voting cards. These administrative snafus are especially troubling because of their disparate impact on the opposition. The likelihood of a runoff presents an opportunity to straighten out procedural problems. We should press for better organization and a complete review of the electoral registry before the final election. The United States should also press for full implementation of the peace accords, including land transfers, reform of the judicial system, and the resolution of investigations into political violence. El Salvador has come a long way fast, but we have an obligation to help avoid a slide back into chaos.”