Venezuela: CEELA Delivers Final Pre-Election Audit Report

Representatives of the Council of Electoral Experts of Latin America (CEELA) offered their final statement ahead of the Venezuelan election Saturday.  The experts, who are in Venezuela as a part of large group of election monitors, routinely carry out as accredited international chaplains for the presidential and legislative elections in the Americas. 

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On Saturday, the president of the organization, Nicanor Moscoso said they have spoken with all candidates in the presidential and other elections due to take place on Sunday in a series of formal meetings. 

Moscoso said the group has sort to address all the concerns raised by candidates and have "seen a harmony in the electoral process."

He stressed that Venezuela is the only country that audits their voting procedures and that, until Saturday, Ceela representatives had participated in 14 audits that correspond to the:

1. Electoral register.

2. Database delivery and software presentation.

3. Voting notebooks.

4. Printed voting notebooks.

5. Certification audit of the voting machines.

6. Verification audit and configuration of the voting machines.

7. Machines' electoral data.

8. De-selection of samples of the voting machines.

9. 'Totalization' software certification.

10. Technological platform.

11. Pre-dispatch audit.

12. Zeroing.

13. Telecommunications.

14. Configuration audit of the voting machines.

Moscoso said the Ceela team would be accompanying the remaining audits, the results of which will be presented on the day of the vote and Monday.

Gillermo Reyes, former president of Colombia's Supreme Electoral Court, said all organizations that are observing and monitoring the electoral process were present during the announcement of the results of each of the audits obtained so far.

He also noted that Venezuela's voting process is made more reliable by live transmission of the audits on the CNE website. The results records can also be found on the site.

Reyes pointed out that Venezuela's automated system also ensures security for voters. He assured that it maintains complete versatility, and clarified that the encrypted network makes the process completely reliable. "The system is completely auditable before and after the elections," he said.

Regarding advances in Venezuelan elections, Reyes noted that polling stations are 100 percent automated and qualified persons assist in the realization of the electoral process.