The 17th Inter-American Meeting of Electoral Authorities (RAE) began on Tuesday in Asunción, an event which sees delegations from 35 democratic countries from across the Americas come together to reaffirm support for democracy, as well as analyse anti-democratic challenges faced in the region.
The event was attended by the Paraguayan head of state, Santiago Peña, authorities of the Supreme Court of Justice, the National Congress, as well as from Electoral Justice, the body which organised the event jointly with the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS).
Speaking at the summit, the president of the High Court of Electoral Justice (TSJE) Jorge Bogarín said that democracy is not static, and that maintaining it and reaching the different goals is a continuous process that requires effort and commitment on the part of all actors, especially the citizenry.
“In the last three and a half decades, the transfers of power have been carried out through free, clear, transparent elections and this has greatly strengthened Paraguay’s democratic life,” he said, indicating that the rule of law and has given legitimacy to the elected authorities.
He went on to wish success for the various commissions that are charged with ensuring free and fair elections, and thanked them for their continued support for Paraguay’s democratic process. He stressed that the issues to be addressed will be key to the strengthening of the social rule of law for the nations that are part of the Organization of American States (OAS).
Democracy is more than a system of government
Secretary General of the OAS, Luis Almagro, mentioned in a video message that since the last meeting of the organisation, the region has faced serious attacks on democracy, undermining the popular will in Guatemala and Venezuela.
“In the OAS we will continue to fight for the return of democracy in Venezuela, the objective remains a future in democracy, without political persecutors and full respect for fundamental rights,” he confirmed.
He recalled that democracy is more than a system of government, it is a commitment to freedom and human dignity, a sacred pact between citizenship and the state, with the promise that each voice will be heard and taken into account.
“In this pact the electoral authorities are the guarantors of that promise being fulfilled, the task being carried out is not only technical but moral because in their hands lies the confidence of millions of people,” he stressed.
Priceless opportunity to share experiences
Francisco Guerrero, the Secretary for Strengthening Democracy of the OAS, said that the two-day meeting in Asunción is an “invaluable opportunity to share experiences, best practices and, above all, to collectively find tools to face the emerging challenges that endanger the integrity of the electoral processes of the region”.
He went on to say that during these two days, vital issues for leadership by top-level specialists will be analysed, such as the impact of artificial intelligence on democracy, regional advances for the promotion of an ecosystem of secure and deliberative information, as well as the current state of democracy on the continent.
“We will also analyse the challenges that arise in the conduct of elections in the context of political-electoral violence, all these issues require our attention because in some way they have the power to undermine the foundations of our institutions, so we propose a space to reflect on the health of our democracies, because although we have made significant progress in recent decades… the case of Venezuela, it presents a worrying panorama of democratic setbacks, that is why it is important to identify them.”
very interesting and needed for paraguay’s progress