Photo of the headquarters of the National Electoral Council (CNE) in Caracas (Venezuela). MIGUEL GUTIERREZ (EFE)
A week after the unified platform finally decided to ask the National Electoral Council (CNE) for technical assistance to organize the Venezuelan opposition primaries, the Chavista members of the Electoral Power Board gathered – majority – chaired by Pedro Calzadilla, together with their directors and deputies, has decided to submit his full resignation to the legislature.
The information was released by the National Assembly itself, controlled by the Chavismo and chaired by Jorge Rodríguez, when it released the agenda for Thursday, June 15 session. By accepting the resignation of the outgoing board, the plenary is now charged with starting the constitutional process and convening the electoral nominating committee, which must organize the round of consultation for the appointment of a new board of electoral power.
Neither the director, Pedro Calzadilla, nor the other rectors – in whom there is some opposition presence and whose numbers are generally moderate – have so far announced the reasons for their resignations. It is said that the outgoing leadership team would give way to political factions for a harder line.
The resignation of the current director of the National Electoral Council spells a definitive end to the opposition’s attempt to organize a consultation with technical support from the electoral power, some sources consulted have confirmed, partly because they are now giving no deadlines for the October 22 call.
The appointment of the outgoing CNE’s executive board in 2020 was the result of a bitter struggle between Chavismo and the opposition, at a time when Nicolás Maduro’s government was still the subject of heavy international siege and harsh questioning. , with very high reputation losses for its members.
There were many people who celebrated his appointment, considering his seemingly balanced and reasonable preparation an achievement of political negotiations. Among the ranks of this CNE, alongside some traditional Chavismo figures who made up the majority of the board, were Enrique Márquez, a well-known leader of the opposition party Un Nuevo Tiempo, who was its vice-president, the union leader León Arismendi and Roberto Picón, a connoisseur the voting mechanics.
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Neither Márquez nor the opposition’s other principal rectors and minority deputies have resigned, but as a minority they cannot make quorum decisions determining their liquidation.
This CNE calmly organized the gubernatorial and mayoral elections of 2021. The ruling Chavista party then needed to set an example of breadth to defuse international pressure, and a subnational regional election was an ideal venue for a limited openness experiment. The promoter of this political operation – and also the current one – is Jorge Rodríguez, who was also rector of the CNE 15 years ago and knows exactly the peculiarities of the institution.
The change in the leadership of the CNE is now becoming an exclusive problem for the opposition parties united in the unified platform. Your electoral commission, chaired by Jesús María Casal, has urgent decisions to make. The option remains to organize the primaries yourself, taking on all the logistics and the technological challenge. According to the sources, there is still time to pursue this path, which is defended by many anti-Chavista activists.
Some independently conducted primaries, experts say, would cost the platform twice as much as one arranged with the CNE, and money is not plentiful. Some opposition politicians believe this is doable, but point out that it increases the risk of unilateral sabotage by Chavista militancy and even the possible challenge of the trial in court should an incident occur. With the exception of Vente Venezuela’s María Corina Machado and Radical Cause’s Andrés Velásquez, almost all opposition bodies and parties preferred to agree with the electoral power on the technical organization.
Meanwhile, Chavismo works calmly in the country’s regions and villages, preparing its local cells, the well-known UBCH – Bolívar and Chávez combat units – and its vote-drawing mechanisms – dubbed 1X10 – with the timer running. Hand in hand, in control of time, awaiting possible progress in the elections.
In the latest episodes of his show Con el Mazo Dando, broadcast every Wednesday by state-owned Venezolana de Televisión, Diosdado Cabello, first vice president of Venezuela’s ruling United Socialist Party and number two in the regime, has predicted that the opposition primaries will not take effect; She has warned opposition leaders that without the CNE it will be impossible to hold the consultation and has repeatedly stated that the Chavista government “will not organize elections in order to lose them.” We go to presidential elections to win. “
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