Far-right opposition leader María Corina Machado giving statements to the press after a meeting with the self-styled "National Primaries Commission," on May 24, 2023. Photo: Twitter/@VenteVenezuela.
Venezuelan far-right opposition leader of the Vente Venezuela party, María Corina Machado, began bickering with the far-right opposition commission for primaries, the self-styled “National Primaries Commission” (CNP). The opposition leader attacked the fact that the participation of the National Electoral Council (CNE) in the internal opposition elections—as a technical tool—had been requested by the CNP.
The campaign command of María Corina Machado questioned the CNP with a new statement made this Tuesday, June 14. According to the text, “there is no clarity” about what the technical specifications that the CNE will apply in the primary elections are to be.
Solamente el Sistema Automatizado de Votación integrado es lo que garantizaría transparencia y seguridad en la elección primaria de la oposición, de acuerdo con el informe de la Comisión Técnica del CNE que fuera entregado este martes a la Comisión Nacional de Primaria. 1/12 pic.twitter.com/K42PDVfPQ5
— cneesvenezuela (@cneesvzla) April 18, 2023
Since the beginning of formal talks with the opposition sector, the CNE has stated that any assistance provided to any political party should respect the integrity of the Venezuelan electoral system, meaning that it will necessitate the use of fingerprint scanners. Fingerprint scanners are a staple of the Venezuelan electoral system, designed to avoid criminal breakage of the principle of “one voter, one vote.”
“We insist that it is disrespectful to potential candidates, and irresponsible to the country,” stated Machado’s campaign command, “that the Commission has not yet clarified these technical aspects,” despite the fact that most Venezuelans already know the position of the CNE on the issue.
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Likewise, the statement described it as “unheard of” that the CNP wants opposition candidates to register “without knowing the rules.”
Machado has maintained a campaign against the technical assistance of the CNE in the primaries, despite the fact that both the CNE and the CNP have explained on multiple occasions what the support of the electoral body consists of in the election process.
Despite this, the CNP once again responded to the “doubts” of María Corina’s campaign command. Through another statement, the commission highlighted the fact that the CNE’s requests “are public knowledge,” and have already been communicated to all the pre-candidates.
¿Las primarias van o no van?
Comando María Corina exige respuestas y transparencia a la @cnprimariave.
Aquí puedes ver el video de Perkins Rocha.
📲https://t.co/vsdJDQtS5z pic.twitter.com/Lap6yT520y
— Comando María Corina (@PrensaMCM) June 13, 2023
Although the CNP document does not mention specifically that it is a response to Machado’s questioning, it was published hours after Machado’s campaign command statement.
“On June 6, 2023, the pre-candidates were notified that the scope of what would be confirmed in the joint Technical Commission would be explained to them before formalizing the request for technical assistance,” the CNP wrote.
The document further noted that the answers to many of the questions and doubts formulated by some pre-candidates or their spokespersons already exist in the regulations of the primary process.
COMUNICADO
La Comisión Nacional de Primaria reitera que ha mantenido cauces permanentes de comunicación con todos los precandidatos y precandidatas en el proceso, lo cual permite canalizar dudas u observaciones. pic.twitter.com/OyzQNuFGjZ
— Comisión Nacional de Primaria VE (@cnprimariave) June 14, 2023
At the moment, the electoral race for the opposition primaries is at the registration of pre-candidates phase. As of yet, only Roberto Enríquez has applied, with the registration deadline held at Friday, June 23.
Henrique Capriles, Carlos Prosperi, Andrés Velásquez, Delsa Solórzano, María Corina Machado, Freddy Superlano, Pérez Vivas, Balo Farías, and Benjamín Rausseo have not formalized their registration so far.
(RedRadioVE) by Ana Perdigón, with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/AU
