Request for Recall Referendum Deemed Inadmissible in Venezuela

The National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela declared inadmissible the request for a referendum to recall the mandate of the President of the Republic, Nicolás Maduro.

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Rector Tania D’Amelio, president of the National Electoral Board (JNE) announced at a press conference that 42,421 signatures were collected the day before, which represents only 1.01 percent of the electorate.

By not achieving the 20 percent established by the legal system regulated in the Constitution, the recall referendum is without effect and, in addition, according to the law, it cannot be requested again during the current mandate.

D’Amelio pointed out that this decision is based on article 29 of the rules governing the process and reported that as a result the CNE declared inadmissible a new request for a recall referendum, as established in article 72 of the Magna Carta.

She stressed that the CNE submitted for consideration by the electoral board of directors, the report on the procedure for receiving expressions of will. This took place on Wednesday, January 26, on a day when 1,200 reception centers were open for 12 hours.

This initiative was promoted by the Venezuelan Movement for the Recall (MOVER) and the adherent groups Todos Unidos por el Referendum Revocatorio, Democratic Right and the organization for political purposes MIN Unity.

In this regard, the first vice president of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, Diosdado Cabello, expressed that the Bolivarian Revolution emerges stronger from this process, representing yet another defeat for the opposition in its attempts to overthrow the Constitutional President.