International Electoral Bodies in Venezuela Dismiss UN Experts' Report as Pursuit of 'Political Motives'
Venue: Caracas, August 15, 2024 (our website)
Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) has set its sights on a UN electoral report, labeling it as "illegal" and "fraudulent."
"Dropping that so-called 'report' was beyond their scope and smacks of political manipulation, filled with questionable and twisted facts," asserted CNE authorities in a communique issued Thursday.
According to the CNE, the agreement with the UN only authorized a four-person panel to not act as an observation mission, thereby refraining from issuing public statements or judgments on the electoral process.
The CNE accused the UN delegation of attempting to "undermine" the election with "flimsy and easily debunked" arguments.
Amid the alleged cyberattack that allegedly interfered with the voting data transmission, the CNE assured that there were no last-minute changes in assigned polling stations, as alleged by the UN report. They also disclosed that real-time information about the incident was provided to electoral experts and observers.
"Not only have accurate details about the cyberattack been provided," the document stated, "but national and international observers have affirmed what transpired and the cyber terrorists themselves have admitted their wrongdoings through social media."
The CNE emphasized that it implemented "contingency procedures" to transmit 80 percent of the polling station tallies for its first bulletin, showcasing an "inexorable result" in favor of President Nicolás Maduro.
CNE officials also clarified that neither UN experts nor observers are legally authorized to audit voting records presented by political organizations or receive printed copies. They stressed that the voting and tabulation processes were automated to assure data integrity, while paper records remain prone to manipulation.
Contrasting with the UN report, a three-page document published on August 9 claimed that the electronic voting system had a robust mechanism to safeguard the result transmission process. However, the system was halted after polling stations closed, and no information about the cyberattack affecting the tallying process was provided to candidates or the UN panel.
Additionally, the report criticized that the CNE had scrapped three post-electoral audits—including one on the communication system that could have shed light on the cyberattack against the data transmission. The CNE had also neglected to publish results broken down by voting centers to support its "oral announcement" that Maduro won with 96.87 percent of polling stations tallied.
"This significantly impacted the confidence in the announced outcome among a considerable segment of the Venezuelan electorate," the report stated. In line with Venezuelan law, the CNE has 30 days (until August 28) to finalize and publish the detailed results in the National Gazette.
However, Venezuela's Foreign Affairs Ministry has cast blame on the UN report, alleging it stems from "hostile instructions" from the US State Department and claiming that the UN experts maintained "regular contact" with US officials while in Venezuela.
Final thoughts:
- Despite the opinions of various international observers, the CNE has chosen to deny the UN report, calling it illegal and fraudulent.
- The CNE's actions and omissions throughout the electoral process have sparked criticism from several international organizations.
- The IACHR later condemned systematic human rights violations in an attempt to undermine the opposition within the Maduro regime.
Sources:
[1] https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/venezuela-election-observers-claim-excessive-votes-support-maduro-2024-07-29/[2] https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/30/world/americas/venezuela-election-results.html[3] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-60153967[4] https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/08/05/venezuela-un-report-highlights-regime-s-brutality[5] https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/venezuela-carter-center-says-election-lacks-international-standards-2024-07-30/
- The CNE, Venezuelan electoral authorities, have rejected the UN electoral report, labeling it as illegal and fraudulent.
- The CNE has been accused of attempting to undermine the election with allegations of political manipulation and flimsy arguments by the UN delegation.
- In contrast to the UN report, the CNE insists that they have implemented a robust mechanism to safeguard the result transmission process, despite halting the electronic voting system after polling stations closed and withholding information about the cyberattack affecting the tallying process.
- The CNE has faced criticism for slashing post-electoral audits, including one on the communication system, and neglecting to publish results broken down by voting centers, which could have boosted confidence in the announced outcome among Venezuelan voters.
- Despite the opinions of various international observers, the Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Ministry has blamed the UN report on hostile instructions from the US State Department and regular contact between UN experts and US officials.
