The XVIII Inter-American Meeting of Electoral Authorities, held on September 8–9 —organized by the Electoral Service of Chile (Servel) and the Organization of American States (OAS), with the support of the Government of Canada— concluded today in Santiago with a call to protect the region's electoral bodies as the ultimate guarantors of voter confidence and democracy.
During the closing ceremony, the President of the Servel Board of Directors, Pamela Figueroa, emphasized the importance of cooperation among electoral bodies and the central role of public trust as the foundation of democracy: "Those of us who represent electoral bodies are public servants. Fulfilling our duty to serve, and doing so with austerity and responsibility, must always be our guiding principle. Institutions and leadership matter. Strengthening electoral institutions through autonomy and budgetary sovereignty is especially relevant, avoiding situations in which the fulfillment of their functions is subject to political and budgetary debate by governments."
Likewise, the OAS Secretary for Strengthening Democracy, Sebastián Kraljevich, highlighted the topics addressed during the two-day regional meeting as a "dialogue among equals where all of us have something to learn. No one here can say they have no pending challenges, and that is why we have the opportunity to collaborate to better confront these challenges, especially in such a complex context as the one we are living."
Finally, during the meeting it was unanimously agreed that the Dominican Republic will host the XIX Inter-American Meeting of Electoral Authorities, to be held in 2026.
The President of the Central Electoral Board (JCE) of the Dominican Republic, Román Jáquez, presented a video message offering his country as host of next year's hemispheric meeting. In his remarks, he stated:re pleased to put forward our candidacy to host this meeting, with the commitment to provide a rich and valuable experience that will contribute to upholding the discourse and actions promoted by member countries in electoral matters for the benefit of our nations."
Reference: E-056/25
