Bogotá D.C., August 16, 2024. On July 28, more than 12 million Venezuelan citizens went to the polls to elect the president of the republic. The unprecedented lack of transparency from the electoral authorities has led to a serious political and democratic crisis in the country.
For the electoral observation organizations that are part of the Red OIE, the way out of this democratic crisis remains to respect the popular will expressed at the polls.
Venezuelan electoral law clearly states that the National Electoral Council (CNE) must publish election results disaggregated by polling station. In this regard, it is necessary for the CNE to complete the entire procedure of announcing a winner, which involves providing all detailed electoral information, accompanied by the post-election audits established in the electoral calendar, which have been suspended: the audit of the telecommunications system, citizen verification phase II, and the audit of electoral data.
After 18 days without the publication of these records, the detailed information provided is insufficient to offer clarity and certainty to the public. Therefore, the publication of the images of the records, as well as an independent audit of the voting, delivery, and results consolidation system, is also required.
For the Red OIE, it is essential to advance the mediation currently being carried out by the presidents of Colombia, Brazil, and Mexico, and it urges these presidents to work with the Venezuelan authorities to ensure the formation of a panel of independent experts who can oversee the mentioned audits.
The Red OIE considers it unacceptable for any authority other than the CNE to attempt to determine the election results without adhering to these basic elements of transparency and accountability.
For the organizations that make up this Network, any attempt to establish regulations that restrict the right to electoral observation is unacceptable. This technical exercise of evaluating elections is part of various international agreements and is an expression of the defense of human rights. A proposal in this sense excludes, without objective criteria, all international observations simply for engaging in electoral observation. Demanding access to information and accountability are not improper acts. Such a prohibition would legitimize the lack of transparency in the elections.
The Red OIE reminds that democratic processes are based on the indispensable premise of adhering to the fundamental principles of electoral integrity, with special emphasis on the transparency of the scrutiny, trust in the declaration of results, and respect for the guarantees of all participants in the electoral contest.
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* The Electoral Observation and Integrity Network emerged with the aim of contributing to transparency, legitimacy, legality, and equity in electoral processes and the exercise of public power by various governments in the region. This network is composed of 17 organizations and civic movements from Latin America and the Caribbean.
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For more information and press contacts:
Laura Melissa Espinosa Gómez
Communications Coordinator at the Electoral Observation Mission – MOE
Colombia
Cel: +57 322 8989406
Pablo Secchi
Executive Director of Poder Ciudadano, Argentina
Cel: +54 9 11 5114-7200
Ramón Villalta
Executive Director of Iniciativa social para la Democracia, El Salvador
Cell: +503 7683 0074
Octael Nieto Vásquez
Representative of Civic Alliance, Mexico
Cel: +52 553485 1815
Andrés Araya
Representative of Costa Rica Íntegra
Cel: +506 8391 1420
Ana Claudia Santano
Representative of Transparencia Eleitoral Brasil
Cel: +55 41 998516999
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