On December 9, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke about the final report issued by the Organization of American States (OAS) on the presidential elections in Bolivia.
In a press release, Pompeo listed the strengths of the institution’s post-election audit, and described the evidence found as professional and overwhelming.
“The United States commends the professional work of the Organization of American States electoral audit mission in Bolivia. The thorough investigation presented by the 36 experts of 18 nationalities underscores that deliberate and malicious actions were taken to rig Bolivia’s election in favor of former President Evo Morales,” said the press release.
The 96-page report presents evidence and more than 500 pages of annexes, confirming the preliminary findings of the OAS. The report addresses the election held on October 20, in which Morales was allegedly re-elected in the first round, and includes data on the existence of two hidden servers used to process the results that were not controlled by Supreme Electoral Court personnel, which, according to the audit, facilitated data manipulation and electoral fraud.
From the beginning, the U.S. government has endorsed and respected the credibility of the findings of the OAS report on alleged irregularities in the elections. The press release mentioned some of the points addressed in the report, such as at least two ballots filled out by the same person at hundreds of polling stations, which a handwriting analysis expert verified.
The report points to a mathematical analysis that demonstrated it was highly unlikely for President Morales to obtain the margin of victory required to defeat his opponents without altering the results.
“Based on the rigor of the independent report, the United States ultimately concurs with the report’s conclusion that, ‘given the overwhelming evidence we have found, what can be confirmed is that there has been a series of malicious operations aimed at altering the will expressed at the polls,’” Pompeo said.
Pompeo urged the Bolivian transitional government to “continue its efforts to prepare for free, fair, and transparent elections that reflect the will of the Bolivian people as quickly as possible.”