On November 21, 2021, Venezuelans will be called to elect 23 governors, 335 mayors, 250 members of legislative councils, and more than 2,400 councilors, as the new National Electoral Council (CNE), appointed on May 4 by a fraudulently elected National Assembly, decided to integrate two electoral processes.

In what appears to be an attempt at building trust and leaving behind an image of bias in the electoral body, its new president, Pedro Calzadilla, announced sixteen new audits of the automated voting system for the upcoming elections, with the participation of technicians from political organizations along with international electoral experts.

The announcements seem aimed at opening the doors to the recovery of the standards of competitiveness, reliability, and transparency of electoral processes in Venezuela. Likewise, they seem to seek to reduce the distrust surrounding the new electoral council due to the “manufacturing defects” denounced by Acceso a la Justicia.

The proper functioning of elections as a democratic mechanism of political representation, inclusion, and plurality depends on the implementation of adequate conditions by the new Electoral Council, and in this sense, Acceso a la Justicia has identified six minimum conditions that must be met to improve the quality of the upcoming elections:

1. Defining the electoral system that will regulate mega-elections

Since 2017, the norms, procedures, and techniques that make up the Venezuelan electoral system are highly questionable, especially due to a series of measures that both the CNE and the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) have incorporated to favor the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). Many of these modifications were made in contravention of the constitutional mandate establishing that the electoral legislation should not be modified at least six months before the date of an election.

Examples of flawed processes that grossly violated the Constitution include the elections of the members of the fraudulent National Constituent Assembly (ANC) in July 2017 and the presidential election held in May 2018. In the first case, a second-degree election was allowed in violation of the principle of direct and secret universal suffrage. In the second case, international observers were not allowed to participate and the date of the election was set at the convenience of the ruling political power, among other things.

The 2020 parliamentary elections were also plagued by irregularities under the facade of interpretations released by the Supreme Tribunal that misrepresented and contravened international standards for authentic, free, and fair elections.

To reverse this situation, the new CNE has the task of defining the rules of the game for the next elections, and for this, it must establish the electoral platform in advance, provide legal security, and guarantee equality of opportunities to all political actors.

2. Establishing the formula for allocating the seats in legislative councils and electing the councilors.

An important aspect closely related to the first condition is defining the formula that the new CNE will use to assign seats in regional and municipal collegiate bodies. As we know, the electoral formula is the way in which voters express their will through their votes and these votes are then transformed into seats.

Articles 14 and 15 of the Organic Law on Electoral Processes (LOPRE) establish a ratio of 70% for nominal voting (individual candidates) and 30% for proportional representation (party lists). Nominal positions would be obtained by a simple majority, while list-type positions would be awarded using the traditional D’Hont method.

However, we must remember that the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Tribunal, in the context of the 2020 parliamentary elections, nullified both legal provisions through ruling No. 68 on June 5, 2020, in which it stated that the provisions did not guarantee political pluralism.

Likewise, the highest interpreter of the Constitution authorized the CNE to legislate on the matter, and the body decided to reduce the percentage of positions to be elected nominally and increase those elected by proportional representation. For this reason, the voters who participated in the parliamentary elections got to choose only 48% of the members by name, while the remaining 52% were elected through proportional representation.

On May 20, the new board of the CNE announced that it unanimously approved the adjudication of positions of legislators and councilors following a ratio of 60% for proportional representation and 40% for nominal vote. The formula is contrary to the provisions of articles 14 and 15 of the LOPRE.

Even so, the senior rector of the CNE, Roberto Picón, declared that the electoral system defined in the Organic Law has favored the over-representation of the majority, and for this reason, the new formula is less disproportionate. However, Acceso a la Justicia considers that the LOPRE should be reformed before implementing such a change.

3. Regaining credibility

The new Electoral Council must approve a set of measures to provide transparency and security. A significant measure is the use of indelible ink, which guarantees the identification of the people who have cast their vote, especially to avoid violations or identity theft in the biometric voter identification system.

Since the fraudulent ANC elections in 2017, the use of indelible ink was eliminated by the electoral authority, increasing the possibility of having one voter cast more than one vote and abandoning the principle of one person, one vote.

Over the last four years, the absence of the indelible ink has raised serious doubts about double voting and, as a consequence, the credibility of the results announced on Election Day. Its restoration would make it possible to fight fraud or intimidation maneuvers by the representatives of the different political parties.

4. Public information and transparency regarding voting machines

The decisions regarding the acquisition of voting machines, software, and other instruments have been covered by a blanket of opacity. The new CNE has the decisive role of promoting transparency regarding suppliers, the number of voting machines that will be used in the next electoral contest, and the technical specifications of the equipment, to be able to clarify or solve any problem or tension that may arise before the mega-elections of November 21.

Publicly available information and accountability on the part of the electoral arbitrator concerning the purchasing procedures would undoubtedly promote safer and more reliable elections.

5. Protection of the confidentiality of the vote

In recent electoral processes, assisted voting became a systematic threat to political freedom, especially to the confidentiality of suffrage. This mechanism, used mainly as a coercion tool to intimidate voters, must be reviewed by the new CNE for the November 21 elections, especially because it poses a serious threat to privacy and confidentiality in the exercise of the right to vote, contemplated in article 63 of the Constitution.

The electoral body would also be obliged to give greater guarantees to the principle of transparency and confidentiality of the vote in the face of the arbitrary use of the Carnet de la Patria (The State’s loyalty card), an instrument that has served in previous processes to blackmail and bribe voters in order to make them vote with this document instead of the identity card, the only identity document legally authorized for exercising the right vote.

6. Respect for timeframes

Article 42 of the Organic Law on Electoral Processes establishes that the electoral schedule will contain the stages, acts, and actions that must be carried out under the provisions of the law. The rule in question represents the consecration of the principle of inalterability and legal security of the electoral schedule, according to which the schedule cannot be modified by the CNE, in order to avoid confusion about its content.

At the end of the day, it is about preventing arbitrary and improvised modifications or accommodative decisions, such as altering the dates or any activity of the electoral process, to guarantee the credibility of the electoral authority.

Finally, there are other specific issues of special interest for Acceso a la Justicia in the upcoming elections that must be inexorably considered by the new CNE board of directors, including:

The design of electoral districts.

The update and debug of the Electoral Registry.

The bans on running for office issued by the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic.

The illegalization of opposition political parties.

The regulation of the use of State resources in electoral campaigning.

Electoral observation, both national and international.

The parameters described above constitute assumptions of validity and transparency of any electoral process. An electoral process celebrated without compliance with these parameters would sow doubts about competitiveness, honesty, and authenticity.

How does it affect Venezuelans?

The complexity of mega-elections and the limited time available for their organization impose on the new electoral authority the need to reinforce the conditions that ensure maximum transparency.

The National Electoral Council has the challenge of taking actions that improve the quality of the vote in Venezuela and, above all, it must ensure that each Venezuelan can voluntarily vote for the political option of their choice without any type of coercion or threat from the national government. If this is not achieved, participation numbers in the elections will continue to be low and the national institutional framework will irremediably continue to fall through.

Translated by José Rafael Medina