Venezuelan CNE Rectors Step Down Their Posts

The president of the Venezuelan National Electoral Council (CNE), Pedro Calzadilla, announced Thursday that, together with another group of rectors and alternates, they were placing their positions at the order of the National Assembly.

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The resignation of the group of rectors of the Electoral Power comes in the framework of the "national political dialogue" that has focused on the "conditions that should govern" the presidential elections planned in Venezuela, said Calzadilla. 

In a statement to the media, Calzadilla said that Venezuela's economic, political, and social prosperity depends "on the commitment and national vocation of all those who make life in our country."

He also said that the group of rectors who place their positions in the order will continue in their functions "until the National Assembly complies with the legal requirements for a new appointment."

The formation of the Preliminary Commission made up of 11 deputies to define the Nominating Committee for the election of the new rectory of the CNE is approved.

Eight rectors in total, between principal and alternate rectors, placed their positions at the order of the Legislative, which must now consider the steps to follow.

The two rectors linked to the opposition, Enrique Márquez and Roberto Picón, did not sign the resignation statement read by Calzadilla.

The CNE is constituted by five principal rectors, each with two alternates, while the incumbent directive was appointed by the National Assembly in May 2021.

The next presidential elections in Venezuela are scheduled under the country's constitutional terms for 2024.