Brussels, 12/04/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Union has welcomed the presidential and parliamentary elections of 8 April in Peru.
The Swedish Presidency of the EU published the following declaration on behalf of the European Union: "The European Union welcomes the presidential and parliamentary elections of 8 April in Peru, in which the government, the electoral authorities and the civil society demonstrated a firm commitment to democracy. The EU would like to extend its gratitude to the transitional government for the invitation extended to observers in the general elections in 2001. In the view of the EU the elections were held in an atmosphere of liberty, justice and transparency. The preliminary results appear to enjoy a high degree of acceptance on the part of the political groupings and the presidential candidates. This is a sign of a democratic sprit that bodes well for the future. According to the preliminary results, a second round of elections will take place. The EU hereby confirms that it will also fulfil its commitment of election observation for the second round of elections in Peru.
The Central and Eastern European countries associated with the EU, the associated countries Cyprus, Malta and Turkey, and the EFTA countries, members of the European Economic Area align themselves with this declaration".
The European External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten welcomed the "extraordinary effort" made by the electoral authorities and the "main actors" in the elections given the very short period of time since the last elections. Mr Patten congratulated those involved for the maturity they demonstrated during a normal, peaceful electoral process after the difficult period witnessed by Peru last year. He added that the EU election observers, led by Eva Zetterberg, Vice-President of the Swedish Parliament, who included eleven Members of the European Parliament, had been given an excellent reception and had been able to confirm that the election had been held properly and transparently. Mr Patten called on the Peruvian population to continue their "democratic efforts in the electoral process" for the new government in July 2001.