After the National Electoral Council (CNE) presented to the Venezuelan opposition the proposal to postpone for 28 days the primaries from which the candidate of the united opposition will emerge, this Monday, October 2, the National Primary Commission (CNP) published a statement in which it was stated that the opposition rejected this proposal.
“The National Primary Commission went this Monday, October 2 to the CNE to take a position on the technical assistance proposed by the electoral body. In this regard, the Commission explained the aspects in which it requests the support of the CNE for the primary process, as it is already configured and with the date of October 22, 2023 for its celebration”, said the government body, specifying that he will not move the fixed date.
According to the CNP, the decision was taken after two meetings with the Technical Commission, and subsequently a document was drawn up in which the decisions taken were clear. “After almost four months since June 5, 2023, the date of this request, the primary election we are organizing is already in its final phase, with the schedule about to culminate with the holding of the vote on October 22, 2023.” , they indicated.
COMUNICADO
Comisión Nacional de Primaria respondió al CNE:
“La situación actual de la Primaria es muy distinta a la que teníamos el 5 de junio” pic.twitter.com/IoVuI6TxlK
— Comisión Nacional de Primaria VE (@cnprimariave) October 2, 2023
Thus, it was indicated that since everything was going according to schedule, including the raw materials for the elections, the physical voting spaces, the fixed dates would not be changed.
“The document indicates that the work of the National Primary Commission, regional councils, local committees for voting abroad, political parties, candidates, organizations that support the primary and volunteering has progressed in the design, consolidation and compliance with the schedule. by stages and tasks,” the letter states.
“We could not interrupt the organization of the Primary, because this would have compromised respect for the calendar and the holding of the vote, fixed well in advance for October 22,” explains the document.
“As a result, the National Primary Commission asks the CNE to support the primary election as it is configured, since it is already in the final phase, and raises points on which the cooperation of the CNE could support the process,” he said. he declared.
The CNE proposes to postpone the opposition primaries
The CNE sought to postpone by 28 days the primaries from which the candidate of the united opposition will emerge to face Nicolás Maduro in the 2024 presidential election, under the pretext of providing logistical support for an open call to more than 20 million Venezuelans registered for elections. electoral list.
Elvis Amoroso, president of the new CNE office, announced through the social networks of the electoral body that he had given to the members of the National Primary Commission, led by Jesús María Casal, a complete proposal for technical support that considers several factors .
“Among these, of course, the date on which this technical support could be provided by the National Electoral Council, which would be November 19,” he indicated.
The CNE proposed increasing the number of voting centers to facilitate citizen participation and recommended that the voting and counting process be fully automated, saying this is “very important” to “guarantee transparency”.
The announcement comes nearly a week after the National Electoral Council – where the ruling party’s allies have been in the majority for more than two decades – approved the request presented by opposition leaders on June 5 for the electoral body to provides logistical support to the process.
