National Electoral Council (CNE) President Elvis Amoroso, accompanied by the CNE executive board, giving statements to the press about the electoral drill scheduled for Sunday, June 30. Photo: MundoUR.
Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—The president of the National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela, Elvis Amoroso, commented that some presidential candidates are not showing respect for the Constitution. Without mentioning his name, Amoroso said that the CNE made 35 phone calls to Edmundo González, candidate of the far-right Unitary Platform (PUD), to join the signing ceremony of the Agreement of Recognition of the Electoral Results, also known as the anti-guarimba agreement. The agreement was signed last week by eight out of the 10 presidential candidates participating in the upcoming elections scheduled for July 28, but González was not among the signatories.
“It is not only that he refused [to sign the agreement], but he also has the nerve to say that we did not invite him,” Amoroso said about the PUD candidate, and described his actions as a lack of respect for the electoral body and its workers. “An adult man, one of the candidates, claimed that he was not invited when we made 35 calls inviting him to come.”
“This indicates that they [the PUD] do not believe in the process and I am sure that with behavior like this, the day after the election they will end up not recognizing the electoral results,” Amoroso added. “One who does not believe in democracy will not be able to sign any agreement to respect or strengthen democracy.”
Elvis Amoroso manifestó que hay candidatos que quieren participar en las presidenciales y no respetan la Constitución: «Los invitamos a que firmaran un acuerdo y se negaron», además indicó que «se le realizó 35 llamadas» a Edmundo González
Vía @CaraotaDigital pic.twitter.com/HnewdmW1iL— Es Noticia (@EsNoticiaVzla_) June 29, 2024
“I am going to tell those who do not want to sign [the agreement], those who do not recognize us, who are on a strange path, there will be elections here on July 28, whether you want it or not,” he emphasized during a press conference at the CNE headquarters where he presented a report on the electoral process, accompanied by the executive board of the CNE.
Referring to the false claims of the extreme-right opposition, Amoroso said that “their story only echoes outside of Venezuela, if someone still trusts them. Here in Venezuela everyone is motivated to vote on July 28.”
“You saw it, the world saw it, even those who protect them saw that they have no interest [in the elections]; what they have is an interest in ignoring the will of the sovereign people,” the CNE president continued. “But here there are rectors who are going to do everything possible so that the will of the sovereign people is respected, and they will be able to express their absolute will on July 28.”
Amoroso highlighted the courage of the eight candidates who signed the agreement to recognize the results: Luis Eduardo Martínez, Daniel Ceballos, Antonio Ecarri, Benjamín Rausseo, José Brito, Claudio Fermín, Javier Bertucci, and Nicolás Maduro.
He further stressed that international sectors that do not respect Venezuela’s laws will not come to Venezuela as observers. “There are people who are not going to come, obviously, they do not respect our country, our laws, our people,” he said.
Electoral drill
The CNE president reported that international observers accredited in the country will participate in the electoral drill scheduled for this Sunday, June 30. He explained that the observers who are already in Venezuela include representatives of the Carter Center, the United Nations (UN), and the Latin American Council of Electoral Experts (CEELA).
Amoroso called on all political parties to encourage their supporters to participate in the voting drill. There will be 1,174 voting centers and 3,006 voting stations enabled for the drill throughout Venezuela, and the only requirement to participate is the voter’s identity card (cédula). The process will begin at 8:00 a.m. Venezuela time.
The CNE president specified that the drill will be conducted at 228 polling stations in Caracas, 173 in the state of Anzoátegui, 62 in Apure, 180 in Aragua, 98 in Barinas, 114 in Bolívar, 174 in Carabobo, 62 in Cojedes, 138 in Falcón, 126 in Guárico, 102 in Lara, 149 in Mérida, 249 in Miranda, 86 in Monagas, 78 in Nueva Esparta, 113 in Portuguesa, 112 in Sucre, 189 in Táchira, 131 in Trujillo, 90 in Yaracuy, 231 in Zulia, 21 in Amazonas, 222 in Delta Amacuro, and 81 in La Guaira.
The purpose of the drill is to allow the electorate to become familiar with the voting machines and the mechanisms that will be used for the July 28 presidential elections. The voters will also be able to see the electoral ballot with the names of all the candidates as well as to verify the operation of the automated voting system.
Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff
OT/JRE/SC
