One month before the elections to renew the National Assembly (AN), scheduled for December 6, the unconstitutional elements in the process remain, according to consulted experts.
They also claim that many doubts persist regarding the automated system, the audits, and how the international observation will take place.
In light of this, international organizations such as the Organization of American States (OAS), the European Union (EU), the Lima Group, the International Contact Group, and countries such as the United States, Germany, and Spain, retain their position of not recognizing the electoral process and the results because they lack democratic guarantees. They also maintain their support for the decision of the opposition, led by Juan Guaidó, to register no candidates and call for abstention.
Meanwhile, neither the National Electoral Council (CNE) nor the government of Nicolás Maduro seems to care about the concerns regarding the election and go on with the plan. The unwavering argument is that a new Parliament must be installed on January 5 because this is what Article 219 of the Constitution dictates.
Opacity
Political scientist and electoral expert Jesús Castellanos warned that, just 30 days before the elections, many questions regarding the different stages of the process remain unanswered vaguely explained by the CNE.
“Regarding the electoral infrastructure, for example, there is no information on the number and location of voting centers and polling stations. Just a chart of relocations. (Indira) Alfonzo (president of the CNE) said on November 1 that they are still working on the electoral infrastructure,” the expert said.
On October 17, the CNE published on its website a list of 199 relocations of voting centers in 18 states and the Capital District. Organizations such as Súmate question that there is no information campaign aimed at guiding voters on those massive changes.
At the same time, voter complaints about “unconsulted relocations” persist, long before the electoral body admitted it. People also denounce that the relocation lists are handled by community councils and heads of CLAP, who notify voters about the changes.
Castellanos pointed out that “there is further concern regarding the voting machines, their numbers and distribution, and software issues such as transmission capacity, and how the new voting system will impact voting times and other associated elements such as the time for biometric registration, for example”.
Also, the CNE has failed to provide information on the company supplying the machines or if there was a previous bid.
Castellanos adds that the holding of a new electoral simulation on November 15 casts doubts about the operation of the new automated voting system. He maintains that the reason for repeating this phase may be faulty technological elements discovered on the October 25 simulation, instead of giving voters a new opportunity to become familiar with the hardware, as stated by Jorge Rodríguez from the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).
Numerous irregularities
In its most recent bulletin, the Venezuelan Observatory on Elections (OEV) claims that “as a consequence of the lack of broad consensus among all political actors to undertake the process, this election has accumulated many irregularities” that have not been corrected. Nor is a rectification expected before December 6.
The NGO recalls that the CNE was appointed by the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) before the National Assembly exhausted the legal procedure. Besides, article 186 of the Constitution was violated by increasing the number of deputies from 167 to 277 and eliminating the direct vote for the election of the three indigenous representatives to Parliament.
In July, a group of former CNE officials, including the former president of the body, Andrés Caleca, filed an appeal before the highest court to declare the nullity of the call for elections. The Constitutional Chamber has not yet issued a response.
Along with the organization of the process, the Supreme Tribunal issued successive sentences declaring the intervention of opposition political parties, including Acción Democrática, Primero Justicia, and Voluntad Popular, as well as former allies of Chavismo such as Patria Para Todos (PPT) and Tupamaro. The sentence imposed new directive boards on all of them, which were also authorized to use the electoral card to nominate candidates for the AN.
The Observatory drew attention to the continuous and unannounced modifications to the electoral schedule as the day for the election approaches.
Changes to legislation and observation
“On October 14, the CNE approved the reform of Title XIV of the Rules of the Organic Law on Electoral Processes (Lopre) regarding the denomination of the national electoral observation and the international accompaniment (…) that is now called international electoral observation. As we have said before, article 298 of the Constitution establishes that the law that regulates electoral processes may not be modified in any way in the period between the day of the election and the six months immediately before it,” the NGO warns.
According to Castellanos, the CNE has not accredited the national electoral observation yet nor has invited it to the audits. Also, the list of international guests remains unknown. “Thanks to the modification of the rules, now public and private officials can be invited as electoral observers, which could be contrary to the due professionalization, expertise, and impartiality that electoral observation implies,” he questions.
According to the Venezuelan Observatory on Elections, four audits of the 2020 electoral process have been conducted as of late October, with the participation of representatives of the main political parties, indigenous organizations, and the Council of Electoral Experts of Latin America (Ceela), according to the sessions records. Likewise, representatives from Ecuador, Honduras, Peru, Colombia, and El Salvador, as well as two electoral experts from Argentina and a representative from the Turkish electoral body were present at this stage.
Deficient safety protocols
“Another aspect of concern is the handling of biosafety protocols against COVID-19 for the December 6 elections. The measures reported so far seem insufficient. Of 40 possible measures included by the OAS in the guide to organize elections in times of pandemic, only 12 (30%) were adopted by the CNE ”, Castellanos alerted.
The CNE has released biosecurity protocols for voters and polling station members. In the case of the former, it establishes that it is mandatory to wear a mask during the voting act; to keep a distance of five feet, including among members of the Plan República, and to disinfect your hands before going to the voting machine. It also reminds voters not to touch their eyes, nose, mouth, or polling place surfaces.
As for the members of the polling station, the protocols include the supply of hygiene material (face masks, gloves, and hand sanitizers, among others) that must be used before handling the electoral material and during the electoral process. Other rules indicate that polling station members should refrain from touching the identity card of the voter, who will be placed on the table so that the member can register the voter’s data.
Castellanos points out that some of the internationally recommended measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 include the extension of the voting day, segmented voting schedules, differentiated entry and exit points in the voting centers to avoid crowds, and the adoption of strategies to prevent people at a higher risk from fulfilling functions as board members, among others. He warns that these measures have not been mentioned by the CNE in the protocols and that the extension of the voting to more than one day was ruled out by the Electoral Power.
High risk
“Considering all this, holding parliamentary elections in Venezuela on December 6 constitutes a huge risk from the bio-sanitary point of view, not to mention the systematic violation of the Venezuelan constitutional and legal order, international standards for elections, and the principles of human rights associated with fair and free elections, ” Castellanos said.
The electoral simulation of October 25 constitutes a preamble to what may happen on December 6 in terms of the disregard of bio-sanitary standards. The Observatory on Elections reported that “in many waiting lines outside the voting centers, people failed to observe a healthy physical distance of at least five between each other, and some even took off their masks before entering the voting center, or simply used the mask in the wrong way”.
It is worth mentioning that some political organizations such as the ruling PSUV took to the streets during the week of relaxed quarantine that coincided with the start of the campaign to promote their candidates with activities such as musical concerts that did not comply with the recommendations.
Unfairness and early campaigning
The simulation scheduled to be repeated on November 15, also precipitated the customary use of public resources to mobilize voters in favor of the ruling party. This irregularity was denounced by the Observatory on Elections and some political parties, including Movimiento Al Socialismo (MAS) and Unión y Progreso.
The chairman of MAS, Segundo Meléndez, demanded the CNE to correct the Rules on Electoral Campaign, released on October 27, that allowed for an advantage in favor of the ruling party, something that has not happened as of the start of the campaign on November 3, as the use of official channels to promote candidates from the ruling party persist as a daily occurrence in public TV and official settings.
“In practice, the electoral campaign began several weeks ago, repeating a pattern of electoral advantage also observed in previous elections. During the last three months, public media has broadcasted and covered partisan meetings and events, including official addresses which have included messages or content of a partisan nature ”, indicates the observatory.
We are waiting for the CNE to enable the digital platform it offered to collaborate with the campaign of the different political organizations; otherwise, there is no other mechanism in the Rules to contribute to equality and equity in the campaigning.
Thus the country is moving towards elections to renew a National Assembly that will not be recognized by a large part of the international community that remains firm in its support for Guaidó. Experts warn that as of January 5, and despite the intention of the current Parliament to continue in office, no legitimate power will remain standing in Venezuela.
Translated by José Rafael Medina
