This is historical material, "frozen in time." The web site is no longer updated and links to external web sites and some internal pages will not work.

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release March 28, 2000

STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY

The White House concurs with the assessments issued this past week by the National Democratic Institute (NDI), The Carter Center, and the Organization of American States of the process leading up to Peru's April 9 national elections. These organizations have conducted a thorough evaluation of electoral conditions at the invitation of the Government of Peru.

While we acknowledge actions taken by the Government of Peru in response to previous recommendations made by these same observer groups, we remain deeply concerned by the fact that these actions still fall far short of what is required to ensure a fully democratic process leading up to the legislative and presidential contests. The United States places the highest importance on free and fair elections that will reflect the will of the Peruvian people.

We call on the Government of Peru to take all necessary measures in the remaining days before the April 9 contests to build public confidence in the integrity of the offices responsible for administering the elections. The government must also guarantee that the conditions for the election itself, including the casting of ballots and the tallying of voting returns, will ensure the legitimacy of the electoral contest.

30-30-30