CNE authorities in a meeting with the UN electoral delegation. Photo: Twitter / @ cneesvzla.
Rectors of Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) held a meeting this Tuesday, November 9, with members of the United Nations (UN) panel of electoral experts sent by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to accompany the regional elections scheduled for November 21. The panel will carry out an independent and technical evaluation of the Venezuelan electoral system, and its attendance was announced in mid-October.
It is important to note that this panel of experts is not a UN Electoral Observation Mission (EOM), since it requires a specific mandate from the Security Council or the UN General Assembly.
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Unlike the electoral observation missions, the panel of experts does not issue public statements evaluating the general conduct of the electoral process or its results. The UN provides this type of electoral assistance to countries at their request.
Las autoridades del Consejo Nacional Electoral (CNE) recibieron en la sede del Poder Electoral a las y los integrantes del Panel de Expertos de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas (ONU), quienes estarán presentes en las Elecciones Regionales y Municipales 2021. pic.twitter.com/Uk7J9Ej2nn
— cneesvenezuela (@cneesvzla) November 10, 2021
“The panel will provide an internal report to the secretary general with recommendations to strengthen future electoral processes,” a spokesperson for Secretary General (SG) Guterres said. “At the discretion of the SG, the recommendations made by the panel may be transmitted to the national authorities.”
The president of the CNE, Pedro Calzadilla, chaired the meeting alongside the Vice President Enrique Márquez, and the rectors Tania D´Amelio and Roberto Picón. Calzadilla noted that Venezuela has an automated system that guarantees safe and reliable voting.
The members of the panel will meet with a wide range of political and social actors, officials and electoral experts, and will visit the states of Zulia and Bolívar. They will remain in the country until the day after the November 21 election.
The panel is made up of Domenico Tuccinardi (head of the delegation), Fernanda Abreu and Roly Davila (main members), Jorge Grayeb, Sebastián Weinmann, and Carolina Vizcaino (support team), and Antonio Arabimar Arze (UN special advisor).
All the members of the panel have extensive experience in observing international electoral processes. Between them, they have observed more than 150 elections around the world.
Featured image: CNE authorities in a meeting with the UN electoral delegation. Photo: Twitter/@cneesvzla.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SL
Misión Verdad
Misión Verdad is a Venezuelan investigative journalism website with a socialist perspective in defense of the Bolivarian Revolution
