Venezuela's National Assembly voting to form a Nomination Committee, which will appoint a new National Electoral Council (CNE) board, in a session on Thursday, June 15, 2023. Photo: RedRadioVE.
The president of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Pedro Calzadilla, led a press conference announcing that he and seven other principal and substitute rectors of the electoral body had presented their resignation letters to the board. The officials involved in this collective resignation include principal rectors Pedro Calzadilla and Alexis Corredor, alongside substitute rectors Carlos Quintero, Leonel Parica, Gustavo Vizcaíno, Saúl Bernal, Rafael Chacón, and Francisco Garcés.
Principal rectors Enrique Márquez and Roberto Picón, and substitute rectors Griselda Colina and León Arismendi, who are considered by the media to be opposition-leaning rectors, did not sign the statement made this Thursday, June 15.
The resignation document, read by Calzadilla, explained that “the national political dialogue has continued to focus once again on the conditions” that will govern the 2024 presidential elections, and that “in order to comply with this noble objective,” they have decided to resign.
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Verbatim, he stated:
Venezuela is now starting a cycle of special importance, whose first election is the presidential one. As the country is aware, the national political dialogue has continued to focus once again on the conditions that should govern this electoral process. We said it in 2021 and we repeat it now: for Venezuela to finish heading towards political prosperity and the political and social stability from which we were illegally diverted, depends a lot on the commitment and national vocation of all of us who live in this country.
In order to fulfill this noble objective, those of us who sign this declaration have placed our post to the order of the National Assembly, so that it is the constitutionally empowered Legislative Power that, once again, designates a CNE that represents the consensus and the aspirations of the democratic sectors of the Venezuelan people.
Calzadilla stated that rectors will continue in the exercise of their functions until the National Assembly makes a new designation, and any ongoing projects will continue to be executed without setbacks. He praised the workers of the electoral body, as well as the Venezuelan people as a whole, for their dedication to the country and for the lessons that have been learned. “In every election, we exercise sovereignty,” he said. “We are, proudly, the homeland forged by our liberators.”
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During his announcement, Calzadilla pointed out that in May 2021, “those of us who sign this declaration now had been appointed as rectors by the National Assembly,” honoring the agreements reached in the national political dialogue in order to “consolidate the peace of the Republic.” He pointed out that they had the challenge of guaranteeing an electoral process “with the greatest number of political actors, opening the door even to those who were outside the constitutional framework in order to contribute to the political stabilization that the country so needed.”
He recalled that in November 2021 and January 2022, regional and municipal elections were held in peace, despite the obstacles placed by US and European illegal sanctions. Then, in 2022 and 2023, they made an effort to modernize the civil registry, seeking to guarantee the human right to identity.
National Assembly appoints Nomination Committee
Venezuela’s National Assembly (AN) approved the formation of the Preliminary Commission that will define the Nomination Committee for the election of the new CNE authorities, in a session that took place on the same day as the announcement. During the session, parliamentarian Francisco Ameliach presented the acceptance of the resignation of the rectors and alternates of the CNE, reported RedRadioVE.
#15Jun || Diputado Francisco Ameliach realiza la presentación de la Aceptación de la renuncia de los Rectores Principales y Suplentes del Consejo Nacional Electoral (CNE) por parte de la AN y designación de la Comisión Preliminar del Comité de Postulaciones Electorales. pic.twitter.com/llHo3srvFk
— Asamblea Nacional 🇻🇪 (@Asamblea_Ven) June 15, 2023
After accepting the resignation document, the AN appointed the deputies that will make up the Preliminary Commission in order to define the Nominating Committee to elect the new rectors and substitutes.
The Preliminary Commission will be made up of 11 deputies: Giuseppe Alessandrello, Desiré Santos Amaral, José Gregorio Correa, Cilia Flores, Nosliw Rodríguez, Didalco Bolívar, José Villarroel García, Luis Augusto Romero, Miguel Salazar Rodríguez, Ricardo Sánchez, and Gloria Castillo de Durán.
“The formation of a new CNE must come out urgently as established in the law and the Constitution,” noted the president of the AN, Jorge Rodríguez. “We cannot allow some type of adverse event to violate a fundamental responsibility that this AN has; it must maintain conformation to the public powers.”
#15Jun || Presidente, Diputado Jorge Rodríguez:
"No faltarán los que quieren aprovecharse de los buenos demócratas. Es con votos y la participación de ciudadanos y ciudadanas que se eligen a los mandatarios, naciones, regionales y municipales de la Patria. pic.twitter.com/4YIPTdNswA
— Asamblea Nacional 🇻🇪 (@Asamblea_Ven) June 15, 2023
Rodríguez added that the resignation of the rectors and substitutes is an “unprecedented” event, highlighting the fact that it is a “very tough decision” but necessary to “facilitate the process of stability in the country.” He urged for the formation of a new board to be accomplished as soon as possible.
The AN president also mentioned that one of the “victories of peace” was the renewal of the CNE rectors in 2021, adding that doing so allowed the electoral process of the municipal and regional elections to be organized in an exemplary manner that year.
(Alba Ciudad) by LBR, with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/AU
