On Univision, Head Of OAS Mission To Observe U.S. Elections Debunks Concerns Of Voter Fraud

OAS Electoral Observation Mission In The U.S. Found “No Information ... That Raises Evidence” Of Fraud

From the November 6 edition of Univision's Al Punto:

Video file

Translated transcript:

JORGE RAMOS (HOST): The Organization of American States (OAS) often watches over elections in Latin America, but this Tuesday, they will do it for the first time in the United States. Heading this mission of more than 40 observers is Laura Chinchilla, who was the first female president of Costa Rica. She joins us by satellite from Washington. Mrs. Laura Chinchilla, thank you for being with us on this program.

LAURA CHINCHILLA: A pleasure.

RAMOS: Thank you. This mission of the Organization of American States observing the elections in the United States is without precedent, and my first question is very simple. Is this mission of observation due to the fear that there will be electoral fraud? Or why are you doing it?

CHINCHILLA: Absolutely not, Jorge. It's not tied to this fear or of the denunciations that certainly more recently have been presented, particularly on the part of one candidate. The mission of the OAS was thought out and directed by the solicitation of the United States government from the month of June of this year and since then it's been planned. 

RAMOS: As you know perfectly, Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, has said on a multitude of occasions that these upcoming elections on November 8 will be carried out with the intention of fraud, that the media is helping the Democratic candidate. How do you see it?

CHINCHILLA: Well, Jorge, what I can tell you is that up to this moment, in which we've already interviewed officials related to electoral issues at the state level and also at the county level, when we have already accumulated some important information, even now when we are sending people on the ground, no information has come into our hands that raises evidence of the certain possibility of fraud in this country to the point where it could revert the sovereign decision of the vote United States citizens are going to cast. Some issues have been presented -- 

RAMOS: In other words, you have no evidence of any fraud or possible fraud.

CHINCHILLA: Absolutely not. Absolutely not, Jorge. We have accumulated no evidence in that direction. I'll tell you that any electoral process has its limitations and has it's aspects that could be strengthened, and here we have heard groups' concerns, but coming from one or another -- in relation to the issue of registering voters, in relation to early voting, but always within normal margins and nothing drastically different from what has happened in other elections.

RAMOS: You are going to visit 14 of the 50 states in the nation. There are 40 observers. And I'd like to ask you about the historical possibility of a woman being president for the first time in the United States. You, of course, made history in Costa Rica by being the first female president. With respect to that, Mrs. Chinchilla, you said the following about the candidacy of Hillary Clinton. “It's a milestone in the history of civil rights in the United States. Furthermore, given the transcendence of the presidency of the United States, it is a powerful message for the rest of the world in favor of the political rights of women.” Do you think that this statement of yours could be interpreted by Donald Trump's people as favoritism of yourself or all of you towards Hillary Clinton? 

CHINCHILLA: Thank you for the question, Jorge. All of us in life have our opinions about specific issues, but we also know what it means to attend to the parameters of objectivity once we assume certain functions. I have been trained a lot in this type, let's say, of exercises because I had to assume with absolute objectivity and without political signs the demands of the presidency of my country, and this is now the second mission I preside over at the OAS. Consequently, all of the guarantees of objectivity exist in this mission that we are driving and with lots of experience. What I mean is the mission is not done solely by the person who presides over it, but rather a group of 40 highly-trained and experienced people in electoral observation. 

Previously:

VIDEO: Debunking The “Rigged Election” Horror Story

How Trump's “Rigged Election” Claims Impact The Latino Community

Trump's Fearmongering Has Forced Hispanic Media To Warn Against Voter Intimidation