OAS Audit Unveils Deliberate Manipulation in Bolivian Elections

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The OAS claims that there was malicious manipulation (with the intention of committing the crime) and serious irregularities, facts that preclude the validation of the result.

The ballot was held on October 20th and, after a questionable poll, the victory of then-presidential candidate Evo Morales in the first round was announced. The OAS carried out an audit which, in a preliminary report, already pointed to fraud in the proceedings.

On November 10th, under pressure from the opposition and the armed forces, Morales resigned and sought political asylum in Mexico.

“The final report of the audit represents the integrity of the organization’s work. It was an evolutionary process that began many months ago and at each stage, the organization fulfilled its task with responsibility, allegiance to its values and principles and compliance with the different agreements signed with the Bolivian government”.

“The Bolivian people and their government needed assurances regarding the electoral process and, to this end, they requested the support of the organization. Neither they nor the other OAS member states deserved a response other than the exceptional and professional work of the audit mission reflected in this report,” said Luis Almagro, secretary-general of the OAS.

Document

The document confirmed that the deliberate manipulation of the elections occurred in two stages.

First, the audit detected fraudulent changes in the records and forgery of the signatures of election officials. Second, it found that, in processing the results, the data flow was redirected to two hidden servers not controlled by the Supreme Electoral Court (TSE), which enabled the manipulation of data and the replacement of minutes.

In addition, there were other serious irregularities, according to the OAS, such as the violation of the confidentiality of the records and the loss of sensitive materials.

In light of these facts, the final result of the audit pointed to bias by the electoral authority (Supreme Electoral Court), i.e., the members of the court, who were supposed to uphold the legitimacy and completeness of the procedure, allowed the flow of information to be diverted to external servers, thus destroying reliance on the electoral process.

The conclusion of the document also states that the manipulations and irregularities found do not permit certainty as to Morales’ alleged numerical advantage over the second most-voted candidate, Carlos Mesa.

“Based on the overwhelming evidence found, it is possible to say that there was a succession of malicious operations aimed at changing the will expressed in the elections,” the report said.

The report comprises 96 pages of analytical work and more than 500 attachments, with hundreds of documents that support and accredit the findings.

The final document meets a request by the Bolivian government, signed on October 30th, for “an analysis of the electoral integrity of the polls.

The work was carried out between November 1st and 9th by a team of 36 experts and auditors from 18 nationalities, including electoral attorneys, statisticians, computer experts, document experts, calligraphers, and electoral organizations.

Source: Agência Brasil