US Secretary of State Marco Rubio instructed US diplomats worldwide not to comment on the fairness or integrity of elections conducted by foreign countries, according to an internal note seen by Reuters on Thursday, in a significant departure from Washington's traditional approach of promoting free and fair elections overseas.
The order, sent to all US diplomatic posts in a Jul 17 internal State Department cable, says the Department will no longer issue election-related statements or social media posts from Washington unless there is a "clear and compelling" foreign policy interest.
"When it is appropriate to comment on a foreign election, our message should be brief, focused on congratulating the winning candidate and, when appropriate, noting shared foreign policy interests," said the cable, which was marked as "sensitive" but not classified.
"Messages should avoid opining on the fairness or integrity of an electoral process, its legitimacy, or the democratic values of the country in question," it said.
It added that election-related messages should come from either the secretary himself or the department spokesperson and it barred US diplomats from issuing such statements without explicit approval from the agency's senior leadership.
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