Venezuelan opposition figures belonging to the National Primary Commission at an event. Photo: Matias Delacroix/AP/File photo.
Venezuela’s opposition primaries will take place on October 22 of this year. In recent months, the parameters of the elections that will determine who will be the candidate to face Chavismo in the 2024 presidential elections have been defined.
According to the latest update from the National Primary Commission (CNP) on Sunday, May 7, the regulations establishing the rules for nominations, advertising, participation of witnesses, voting abroad and the voting process have been finalized.
As established by the CNP, the registration of candidacies will begin on May 24 and end on June 23. After this, “admitted nominations” will be published. Those who are not admitted will be notified, before which it will be possible to “request reconsideration.”
Those who aspire to be candidates must have demonstrated “an unequivocal commitment to the struggle for freedom, the rescue of democracy, respect for human rights, the freedom of political prisoners and the return of exiles.”
According to the commission, the electoral campaign will take place between August 22 and October 20 and “may require candidates to submit, under oath and in writing, a periodic report of the financial resources they receive” for the campaign.
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Who will be able to participate? Those registered in the CNE’s Electoral Registry to vote abroad and those who, whether in the system or not, “update their data to vote” in the “cities or localities provided by the National Primary Commission.”
Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) expressed its willingness to support and consider proposals that strengthen political participation in these primaries “as long as they do not affect the integrity of the Venezuelan electoral system.” This means that the organizers must not attempt to breach the key elements that make the Venezuelan electoral system robust, such as automated voting machines, fingerprint readers to avoid double voting, and automated results transmission.
Meanwhile, several candidates still debate the usefulness of the CNE’s technical and logistic capability. The Venezuelan electoral legal framework defines the CNE’s capacity to provide technical assistance to political parties, labor unions and other organizations to organize electoral events. In that sense, it is perfectly legal that the opposition chooses not to use the CNE. Many analysts, including some belonging to the opposition, believe that if the opposition decides not to use the CNE, the opacity of the results will lead to a rupture among the opposition forces when the results of the primaries are announced.
(Misión Verdad) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SF
