During a press conference on Tuesday, international observers delivered an overview of Sunday’s elections. Jose Silva, chief of the European Union delegation who witnessed the elections said that “significant sectors of Venezuelan society do no trust the process or the independence of the electorial authorities.” He recommended that the National Assembly name “as soon as possible a new CNE board with people of prestige and independence, of diverse backgrounds, and who enjoy the trust of all sectors of society." In addition, Silva highlighted the “low participation” of registered voters in the election. He emphasized that the government’s earlier publication of the Maisanta Lista (with the names of those who signed petitions for a presidential referendum) “produced generalized fear and played a significant role in favor of abstention." (The list would later be used in reprisals against the opposition). At the same time, Silva praised the efforts of the electoral authorities to generate trust by eliminating the use of fingerprint technology, days after a technician proved that the voting machines memorized each individual’s vote. The EU team found the voting technology ”trustworthy”.
In a press release, the Organization of American States said "the majority of voting centers closed between 5pm and 7pm, even when in several of them there were no voters standing in line, violating the time framework [4pm] established by law." The OAS said the government may have stretched the schedule to garner more votes.
Source: El Nacional
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