Almagro insists on election promotion • El Nuevo Diario

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, reiterated Wednesday the need to advance the general elections in Nicaragua.
"I think it's a necessity for Nicaragua, it's the easiest way to democratize the country and bring institutional solutions," Almagro said during a debate. in the USA. UU., Regarding the advancement of elections in this country of Central America.

He then revealed that in May 2018 he had raised this issue with President Daniel Ortega: "When the protests were at their peak, the president seemed then willing to advance the elections"; However, "since then, many things have changed and I think he (Ortega) is no longer so willing to do it".

However, Almagro said that "holding elections too early would not be beneficial for anyone either" because political parties need time to prepare.
The Secretary General of the OAS also asked "at maturity" to the Civic Alliance and the government, who opposed until April 3 in the search for an agreement to solve the socio-political crisis in the country.

"We need maturity on both sides, we need people to stop lying to us, we need it, it's very important," he said during a debate in a University in Washington.

Almagro explained that "all the political actors" in Nicaragua have had this behavior and, in a way, have expressed it "all the time".

"And I have an example, one of the parties to the negotiations asked us to organize a meeting and then they did not show up at this meeting, so you ask us to organize a meeting and you do not come next? This is the kind of political games that can not be, "he added.

They support

"I think Almagro's position coincides with the Alliance," said José Pallais, representative of this coalition in the negotiations.

"We are aiming for early elections in 2020. Six months for reforms and perhaps six more months for the implementation of the reform and the organization of the election campaign, we believe that it will not be necessary no more than a year to reach these elections, "said Pallais on behalf of the Civic Alliance.

He added that "Almagro" must speak on behalf of both parties, but it is clear that the non-implementation of the agreements is the responsibility of the government, which has so far not respected signed agreements " .

Almagro said: "We do not play, we can not because the needs of people are huge, too big, we have to come up with solutions, so we do not like that when people participate in a political game with this situation is not tolerable, it is not at all acceptable. "

For his part, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Denis Moncada, reiterated Wednesday that the issue of the promotion of elections was not on the negotiating table with the Civic Alliance.

The OAS would make the electoral reforms in 6 months

The head of the Electoral Technical Cooperation Section of the Organization of American States (OAS), Cristóbal Fernández, presented to the Nicaraguan Civic Alliance a calendar of work on the electoral reforms and a proposal for a of the mission of specialists who would come to the country. this end

The lawyer José Pallais, of the Alliance's negotiating team, said that the target date for the start of this work for the OAS is the month of May, though The organization must first enter the procurement phase with international experts.

"Once the team is organized, she will go to Nicaragua to start consultations and at that time, the six-month period will begin to be counted," said Pallais.

Pallais, who attended the meeting with Fernandez, said that the OAS "will proceed immediately to this project and could start in May."

Juan Sebastián Chamorro, of the Civic Alliance team, revealed that "we were told that this work would take about 6 months, but that the start date of these tasks remains to be defined and that the aspects electoral reform, but the three main themes on which they would focus were presented. "

What would the reforms be?

Pallais said the details of the reforms will be known when the OAS technical team devotes itself to its work.

"The electoral reform is the product that they will present, it is on what they will work, they will come in the country, they will consult different sectors, they will have opinions, they will examine the legislation in force as well as the recommendations of the election observers who have been elected. " in the country during previous electoral processes and with whom they will formulate the project, which includes a reform text of a new electoral law, "he explained.

The members of the Alliance asked Fernandez how long it would take them to do this work and he "stressed that once started, the project could be completed in 6 months, which for us, is a satisfactory period, "said Pallais. .

The Civic Alliance made Fernandez understand, according to Pallais, that the electoral reforms were an important issue because they would affect the Alliance's position on the promotion of elections.