In the context of the visit of a special mission of the European Union to the country, some sectors within the political opposition, who aspire that the pressure on the Maduro government serve to achieve better electoral conditions, raised the demand for at least eight relevant changes that must take place to participate in the next elections: A guarantee of International Observation and an impartial National Electoral Council (CNE); the reversal of the judicial takeover of opposition parties; a guarantee of equitable access to the media; a guarantee of a full audit of the voting system; the suspension of the ban to run for office; the suspension of “puntos rojos“; the suspension of the National Constituent Assembly (ANC) without modification of the Constitution; and an update of the Electoral Registry.
The differences between the foreign policy of the United States and the European Union towards Venezuela diminish when it comes to the electoral conditions for the next parliamentary polls. Suspending the electoral process scheduled for December 6 and realizing the necessary guarantees for free, fair, and competitive elections during the postponement period is essential for both the United States and the European bloc.
During its visit, the special mission of the European Union received a series of demands from some sectors of the opposition who aspire that the pressure on the government of Nicolás Maduro serves to achieve better electoral conditions. It comprises at least eight relevant changes that must take place for this sector to participate in the next elections.
A Postponement to guarantee International Observation and impartial Electoral Council
The first demand focuses on the requirement of having a qualified international observation; this implies postponing the election so that the technical teams of the European Union and other organizations that carry out electoral observation can send a mission to the country.
In this sense, the petition is aimed at requiring the presence of one or more Permanent International Electoral Observation Missions, from the moment the elections are called to the proclamation of the elected authorities, involving all stages of the electoral process and including the participation in the audit of the automated voting system.
As discussed in previous articles, “it is urgent to recover the principle of plurality in the set up of the electoral missions, reversing the figure of ‘companions’ for that of ‘observers’ and publishing in advance the information on who will integrate the delegations”. The fundamental difference is that the companions do not have true access to the verification of all the stages that are part of the electoral process; they are installed with little anticipation, and they are prohibited from making public statements without authorization. Unlike observer missions, they consist of a symbolic political presence and not a systematic evaluation.
“Elections without options do not qualify as democratic; neither do elections with options confined to a restricted menu of alternatives, all complacent with the State”
In addition to the presence of Permanent International Electoral Observation Missions, sufficient guarantees are required for the exercise of National Observation, which involves approving the organizations and guaranteeing that they can freely witness every phase of the electoral process, elevate their observations to the electoral authority, and freely present their findings before the national and international public opinion.
In order to fulfill this requirement, it is necessary to agree on the modification of the General Regulations of the Organic Law on Electoral Processes (Lopre) on National and International Observation Missions, and modify Title XVI of the bill through a Resolutory Act of a future impartial and independent National Electoral Council (CNE) to ensure that the electoral agency does not exercise control over the Electoral Missions, in compliance with the Inter-American Democratic Charter.
The rescheduling must also serve to guarantee the establishment of an impartial electoral arbitration mechanism.
A solution to the judicial takeover of opposition parties
The second requirement is to see the judicial decisions taken to impose ad hoc directives on political parties reversed. In this sense, we must remember that the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) ordered the removal of the national directive of several political parties: Acción Democrática (AD); Primero Justicia (PJ); Voluntad Popular (VP); Acción Ciudadana en Positivo (Acep); Min-Unidad; Compromiso País (Compa), and Tupamaro. Ad hoc directives were imposed on all these organizations, except in the case of PJ, which was left with no directive at all after a second decision by the Court.
Fair access to mass media, a guarantee of compliance, and the prohibition of using the public media system
In this case, the objective is to guarantee equitable access to the media, including the prohibition of compulsory TV and radio broadcasts and the use of public funds for electoral campaigning, and the allocation of air time in state media to inform voters on the electoral options so they can set their preferences with free access to information. This guarantee also implies advancing an institutional campaign by the CNE to promote participation, explaining and detailing the principle of the secrecy of the vote, the functions of the polling station members, and the guarantees of electoral freedom and justice at the voting center. It is also required to guarantee strict monitoring of the funding of politicians and political parties, which contribute to developing conditions of transparency and trust among voters.
In-depth audits
Less than 70 days before the December 6 parliamentary elections, the essential characteristics of the new automated voting system remain unknown. As indicated in previous articles, it is essential to guarantee full audits of the automated system before and after the electoral event. This requirement implies an exhaustive review of all the components of the voting hardware, the totalization system, the transmission system, and the Electoral Registry, including fingerprint data, with clearly established and agreed-upon protocols, in the presence of national and international observers and technical independent experts who must have absolute access to all the information of the automated electoral system, with enough time and space for the technical certification of the processes.
Even though the latest technical review to certify that the Automated Voting System counted the votes accurately was conducted in 2017, it is necessary to increase the electoral guarantees associated with the audit process, in the light of 1) the dismissal of Smartmatic as a contractor company and the complaints about the manipulation of results during the election of the National Constituent Assembly; 2) the non-participation of technical experts from the political organizations and observation bodies in subsequent electoral processes; 3) the incorporation of Ex-Clé, a company questioned for having links to leaders of the ruling party, and 4) the fact that the examination of the fingerprint database and the biometric identification system, before and after an electoral event, was never allowed in the terms requested by the political factors. All these elements raise serious concerns about the integrity of the automated voting system.
Suspension of political bans
The opposition requested the delegation of the European Union to guarantee the end of the ban to run for office against leaders and political parties of the opposition. It implies restoring the freedom to postulate candidates and register parties following the requirements of the Law, within a framework of fair and universal standards. Elections without options do not qualify as democratic, nor do elections with options confined to a restricted menu of alternatives, all complacent with the state. This request also involves guaranteeing an appropriate timeframe and conditions to allow independent candidates to postulate.
Suspension of “puntos rojos“
The demands presented to the mission of the European Union also include the requirement to guarantee the end of coercion and intimidation against voters. The exercise of the vote must be free, without any external coercion; voting may never be assisted, except in the cases provided for in the Electoral Law. Political proselytism and the so-called “puntos rojos” (“red points”, receptions kiosks installed by the ruling party outside electoral centers, in contravention of the Electoral Law) must be prohibited on election day, as well as the use of ID systems to monitor voters, other than those established by law. The intimidation of citizens before, during, and after the electoral event must also be prohibited. The secrecy of the vote must be observed to allow voters to express their opinion freely.
Suspension of the ANC without modification of the Constitution
Another key point to guarantee participation in the elections involves the suspension of the National Constituent Assembly (ANC) and any attempt to modify the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
Electoral Registry Update
Updating the electoral registry and allowing the registration of new voters inside and outside the country is one more item in the list of demands presented to the delegation of the European Union. According to conservative population projections, an estimated 1.5 million people who recently turned 18 have not had the opportunity to register to vote. On the other hand, several national and international sources estimate that at least 3.8 million Venezuelans of voting age living abroad are entitled to register or update their voting data by showing their national ID card, even if expired, as established by the law.
Even though voting abroad is possible through an amendment to the Law that makes the requirements more flexible, such as registering or voting with a valid or expired identity card or passport and the elimination or modification of the requirements of “legal permanence in a foreign country”, this could not be the most expeditious way and could imply the need for modifications in other laws. However, another mechanism to consider could be issuing national ID cards abroad or modifying some provisions to “interpret” the requirement of “legal permanence in a foreign country” in a more flexible way.
Additionally, the document handed over to the mission of the European Union reiterated the need to establish a reasonable timetable to conduct the registration and updating of voter data, inside and outside the country, for at least one (1) month, including weekends, to activate 1 ) more than 2,500 registration and update points throughout the country and 2) ad hoc consular services with voluntary personnel (made up of Venezuelan citizens) in the cities of the world with the greatest concentration of Venezuelan voters. This guarantee also implies an exhaustive review of the voting centers created by the CNE since 2015, to verify that they do not respond to political criteria or bias and that they comply with the requirements established by the Law on Electoral Processes and the electoral tradition for the definition of voting centers that citizens trust.
Translated by: José Rafael Medina
