Ceremony for the launch of the opposition primaries technical commission in the CNE headquarters in Caracas, presided by CNE President Pedro Calzadilla. Photo: Twitter/@cnprimariave.
Caracas, January 19, 2023 (OrinocoTribune.com)—This Wednesday, March 8, a joint technical commission between the National Electoral Council (CNE) and the National Primary Commission (CNP), belonging to the Unitary Platform (also know as G3), was formally launched. The commission will explore the possibility of the CNE providing technical support for the opposition primaries election scheduled for October 22.
The meeting took place at the CNE headquarters in Plaza Caracas. The president of the electoral authority, Pedro Calzadilla, and the rectors Roberto Picón, Carlos Quintero, and Leonel Párica participated in the meeting. The CNP was represented by its president, Jesús María Casal, and the members of the Commission, Ismael Pérez Vigil and Roberto Abdul. In addition, electoral experts Miguel Cañas and Francisco Castro were present.
#AHORA | Instalación y primera reunión de la Comisión Técnica Conjunta entre la Comisión Nacional de Primaria y el Consejo Nacional Electoral. pic.twitter.com/2nXDobGLNg
— Comisión Nacional de Primaria VE (@cnprimariave) March 8, 2023
“The formal act of installing this commission has taken place, and we have agreed to hold subsequent meetings, in which concrete proposals will be made,” said Jesús María Casal.
Upon leaving the meeting with the CNE authorities , Casal did not offer further details about what was discussed during the meeting. He also did not detail what kind of support was requested from the electoral body.
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So far, Venezuelan far-right politicians have not made their intentions clear regarding using or not using the CNE’s technical service, the most reliable and technically viable. Delsa Solorzano, Andres Velasquez, and Maria Corina Machado are strongly against the use of CNE’s capabilities despite the fact that the Venezuelan electoral body is legally mandated to run the 2024 presidential elections in which they are planning to challenge PSUV candidate Nicolas Maduro.
Nos reunimos con la Comisión Nacional de Primarias (@cnprimariave); les presentamos nuestra propuesta electoral y cómo ejecutarla dentro del cronograma ya anunciado.
¡Voto manual, que participen todos los venezolanos dentro y fuera del país, y sin CNE!#PrimariasSinCNE pic.twitter.com/bRwIllYi19
— Comando María Corina (@PrensaMCM) March 3, 2023
On March 3, on social media, Machado published a photo showing a meeting she had with the CNP, with the caption: “Manual vote (not automatized), participation of all Venezuelan in and outside the country and without CNE!” Thus, Machado expressed her apparent unwillingness to abide by CNE decisions.
However, other opposition leaders agree that the CNE might present the most economic option to accomplish the objectives of the opposition primaries.
Orinoco Tribune Special by staff
OT/JRE/SL
