Venezuela Exposes Details of Fraud in Opposition Primaries

On Thursday, the National Assembly president Jorge Rodriguez held a meeting with accredited diplomats in Venezuela to present them with details of the agreements reached by Venezuela and a sector of the right-wing opposition.

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Recently, in the capital of Barbados, representatives of the Venezuelan government and the political opposition signed an agreement related to the establishment of political and electoral conditions preceding the 2024 presidential election, as well as another agreement aimed at safeguarding the Venezuelan territory and assets abroad.

The first agreement seeks to ensure that the results of the 2024 election are fair and verifiable, utilizing the Venezuelan electoral system, which is widely recognized as one of the world's most reliable, efficient, and rapid systems.

Rodriguez emphasized that the Venezuelan electoral system is robust and trustworthy, a fact confirmed through 18 audits in which experts have scrutinized various aspects of the electoral process, including voting machines, software, voter registration, and vote counts.

The National Assembly president explained that the Barbados agreement stipulates that these conditions will apply to all future electoral processes in the country. He also underscored that all political actors are subject to the provisions of the Constitution and electoral laws.

"The political parties are not secret societies, private enterprises, or anonymous companies," Rodriguez stressed, emphasizing that right-wing organizations must adhere to legal mandates.

Through the Barbados agreements, the Venezuelan government and the political opposition established that the National Electoral Council (CNE) is the sole institution legally empowered to convene, organize, and conduct all types of elections in Venezuela.

Rodriguez recalled that the CNE reached out to the "Unitary Platform" on two occasions to organize the opposition's primary elections. However, on both occasions, this alliance of parties declined the CNE's offer of voting centers, electronic voting machines, and other necessary support for the primaries.

The National Assembly president pointed out that this behavior can only be understood in the context of allegations of widespread fraud in the opposition's primary elections.

To illustrate this, Rodriguez noted that voters were uncertain about their polling locations because of imprecise or unknown information. Furthermore, he revealed that 30 percent of the few available polling centers were actually situated within private residences.

Due to the numerous irregularities in the opposition primaries, many election officials reported the incidents, and some candidates even withdrew. One of them was the vice president of the commission for the opposition primaries, who demanded CNE's involvement in the process.

"How can an election be competitive if two candidates have resigned, leaving only one with a chance?" Rodriguez asked, asserting that the Oct. 22 primary elections cannot be considered proper elections due to their lack of quality and verifiability.

According to another candidate, the primaries were conducted without witnesses, and the audited electoral materials were never delivered.

A few weeks before the event, Sumate, a company controlled by opposition politician Maria Corina Machado, took charge of organizing the primaries and set up polling centers expected to accommodate up to 10,000 voters. However, this deliberate concentration of voters served as a mechanism to prevent thousands of citizens from voting.

Rodriguez noted that both the overcrowding of voters and the disorganization of the primary elections were intended to generate frustration among citizens in order to create a negative public perception about the Barbados agreements.

Previously, the Venezuelan government proposed that the Venezuelan electoral authorities, the European Union, the Carter Center, or other international institutions audit the ballots.

However, this possibility cannot take place because a far-right faction of the opposition burned the ballots and voting records. Not only is this act a crime, but it also prevents any other opposition candidate from challenging the primary elections if they believe they were disadvantaged or if irregularities occurred.

Finally, Rodriguez urged the diplomats to contribute to the peace and stability of Venezuela by refraining from interfering in the country's internal affairs.