Tim Kaine and Mark Warner want Secretary Kerry to support free and fair elections in El Salvador.

Tim Kaine and Mark Warner want Secretary John Kerry to support free and fair elections in El Salvador.

The people of El Salvador will hold presidential elections February 2, 2014.  We write to encourage the Department of State and U.S. Embassy in San Salvador to take all appropriate efforts to ensure a free, fair and transparent vote.  Most importantly, the Department and the Obama Administration can support such an outcome by making clear that the U.S. government will work closely with any candidate who wins fair elections. 

For the first time, Salvadorans residing in the United States will be allowed to vote by absentee ballot.  Already, U.S.-based Salvadorans make enormous contributions to their homeland, providing almost 20 percent of El Salvador’s GDP through remittances to friends and loved ones.  By participating in the elections, the Salvadoran-American community will be able to contribute to El Salvador’s democracy, as well as its development.  The U.S. government’s expressed commitment to working with the next president and the people of El Salvador, regardless of the electoral outcome, will encourage full use of the franchise in both the United States and El Salvador.

After the elections, we will look forward to the continued development of U.S.-Salvadoran ties, building on President Obama’s 2011 visit to El Salvador.  Among other promising initiatives, we welcome continued efforts to maximize the impact of remittances sent to El Salvador.  As much as possible, we should reduce the cost and difficulty of sending hard-earned savings to families in El Salvador, and channel them to sustainable, income-generating investments, including small businesses run by receiving families.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

The Obama administration will work with whichever candidate wins freely and fairly. But it's a two-way street. If the victor does not want to work closely with the US, then so be it.

Kind of strange emphasis on Salvadorans voting by absentee ballot given that last I read no more than 10,000 might be able to vote - out of a population of around 2 million.

Remittances? Good but nothing they say hasn't been said for the last fifteen years.