ACTION ALERT!
SPEAK UP FOR FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS IN EL SALVADOR!
CALL OR WRITE YOUR US REPRESENTATIVE TODAY!
Call or write your US Representative and ask him or her to sign onto a Dear Colleague letter in support of free and fair elections in El Salvador. The letter is being circulated by Congressmen Jim McGovern (MA) and Dennis Moore (KS), and the staff contact person is Cindy Buhl in Congressman McGovern's office. The letter is currently in circulation in the House of Representatives and signatures will be collected throughout the month of November. Below is a list of talking points to include in your message:
- With the upcoming Municipal, Legislative Assembly, and Presidential elections that will take place in El Salvador on January 18th and March 15th, 2009, I believe the United States can help ensure that the 2009 Salvadoran elections are free, fair, and conducted under the most transparent conditions.
- According to Salvadoran public opinion polls, 54.4% of the population has little or no faith in the 2009 electoral process, and 55% predict fraud in the upcoming elections.
- These will be the most fiercely contested elections in Salvadoran history because the opposition party is leading in public opinion polls, which could lead to changes in long-established patterns of political control.
- I respect the Salvadoran people's sovereign right to choose their leaders, and I believe the US State Department should encourage the Salvadoran government to:
- Encourage domestic and international observation of the entire electoral process;
- Urge political parties to stop the use of deceptive or misleading advertising that aims to sway voters' decisions based on fear and misinformation; and
- Carry out a comprehensive investigation of acts of political violence in the period leading up to elections, on Election Day, and during the post-election transition period.
Presenting these points to your representative will express to them the importance of supporting democracy and free and fair elections in El Salvador.
To contact your representative, call the US Capitol Switchboard at 202.224.3121, or click here to write your representative an email. Feel free to use the sample email below as a guide.
For more information, contact Michelle Petrotta at michelle@share-elsalvador.org.
Dear Representative ______________________:
As a constituent of your district, I am asking you to sign onto Congressmen Jim McGovern's (MA) and Dennis Moore's (KS) Dear Colleague letter that you should have received during the last week of October. The letter is addressed to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, asking her to encourage the Salvadoran government to:
- Encourage domestic and international observation of the entire Salvadoran electoral process;
- Urge political parties to stop the use of deceptive or misleading advertising that aims to sway voters' decisions based on fear and misinformation; and
- Carry out a comprehensive investigation of acts of political violence in the period leading up to elections, on Election Day, and during the post-election transition period.
If you have not yet signed onto the letter or have questions, please contact Cindy Buhl in Representative McGovern's office. Thank you for your dedication to democracy around the world, and I hope you seriously consider signing onto the letter in support of free and fair elections in El Salvador.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Address
The Salvadoran Archbishop, Fernando Sáenz Lacalle, spoke out against the recent criminal complaint against former Salvadoran president, Alfredo Cristiani, and 14 other former military members for the murder of the six Jesuit priests and two female employees in El Salvador in 1989. The Archbishop responded to the news by commenting, "El Salvador's problems should be resolved in El Salvador." However, many argue that the case cannot be resolved in El Salvador because of the amnesty laws that protect war criminals from the Salvadoran civil war.
