VENEZUELA'S REGIONAL ELECTIONS: COMING TO AN END

C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 003292

SIPDIS


NSC FOR CBARTON
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD
STATE PASS USAID FOR DCHA/OTI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/10/2014
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM VE
SUBJECT: VENEZUELA'S REGIONAL ELECTIONS: COMING TO AN END

REF: A. A: CARACAS 02758


B. B: CARACAS 02885

Classified By: Abelardo A. Arias, Political Counselor, for
Reason 1.4(d)

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Summary
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1. (C) National Electoral Council (CNE) President Francisco
Carrasquero declared October 19 that only 2.1% of Venezuelan
voters registered did not have addresses. Opposition
leaders, who had alleged that more than a million persons did
not meet the legal requirement of having an address,
challenged the CNE to make the electoral registry public and
open it for scrutiny. Preparing for the October 31
elections, the CNE increased the number of voting centers,
voting tables, and electronic voting machines and decreased
the number of voting table workers. There will be no
international observers like the Carter Center, Organization
of American States (OAS),and the European Union.
Abstentions are the chief obstacle to the opposition, which
has a lot riding on these elections. End Summary.

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The Electoral Registry
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2. (U) A committee of Governors and Mayors complained to the
National Electoral Council (CNE) on October 13 that more than
1.8 million new voters in the electoral register do not have
addresses listed in the register as required by electoral
law. On October 19 CNE President, Francisco Carrasquero,
publicly and vehemently contradicted the claim during a press
conference. He insisted the CNE technical committee found
40,283 Qters without addresses by cross-checking voter
information. Asserting that only 2.1% of the people the
opposition produced as "proof of fraud" were without
addresses, Carrasquero demanded that the opposition respect
the CNE and desist trying to prevent or delay the regional
elections, which he insisted would go forward on October 31.


3. (U) Primero Justicia President and National Assembly
Deputy, Julio Borges, said that if the CNE were as
transparent as it claimed to be the electoral registry would
have been posted publicly so all Venezuelans could review it
and denounce inconsistencies or incorrect information.
Instead, Borges said, the CNE has kept the registry hidden
and made a spectacle of having one journalist "check" the
notebooks during the press conference October 19. (Note: By
law, the CNE is required to publish the official electoral
registry and open it for voters to dispute incorrect
information, but it has not done so.) Primero Justicia and
other political parties have petitioned the Supreme Court
(TSJ) to annul the electoral registry or to call for its
complete review before regional elections.

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More Centers, More Tables, More People, More Time...
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4. (U) To reduce the amount of time it takes to vote before
the regional elections, the CNE created 572 additional voting
centers. The CNE also increased and redistributed the number
of voting tables (28,617 total) and electronic voting
machines (23,595) to be used. The National Electoral Board
(JNE) selected 194,242 new poll workers to correspond to the
voting table and voting center increases. With time running
short, the CNE decided that voters whose voting center has
changed would be notified on Election Day when they arrived
at their previously assigned voting location.


5. (C) The CNE organized training sessions for poll workers
October 4-7. According to the poll worker-training manual, 3
principal poll workers and a secretary will run each voting
table, rather than by the 5 workers the law calls for. Each
voting center will also include a "coordinator", newly
appointed by the CNE. (Note: There are no provisions in the
electoral law for this type of official.) At centers with
electronic voting machines, after the voting finishes and
polls close, the results are to be transmitted, and then a
vote count document is to be printed. CNE director Jorge
Rodriguez told reporters October 18 that the Governors and
Mayors Committee had agreed to a post-election audit that


would allow voting table members to count the ballots when
voting ended. The Governors and Mayors contradicted
Rodriguez.


6. (U) In preparation for October 31, the CNE conducted a
voting simulation October 10. The results gave rise to
worries that the increase in centers and redistribution of
tables would not be enough to compensate for the time needed
per voter to cast a ballot.

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CNE Changes
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7. (U) On September 27, Director Ezequiel Zamora resigned
from the CNE because of differences with the majority.
During an October 19 press conference, CNE President
Carrasquero urged the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme
Court to examine Director Sobella Mejias' political actions
and "take action accordingly." Mejias was acting as a
political agent rather than neutral election official and
distorting figures, according to Carrasquero. Mejias had
complained about alleged irregularities in the electoral
register and insisted on a complete review.

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The Legalities
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8. (U) The NGO Sumate asked Venezuela's Supreme Court to
suspend the regional elections because of the violations of
the Electoral Law. The illegalities Sumate alleges include:
the CNE did not publish the public notice for regional
elections that should have been published six months ahead of
the elections; irregularities with the electoral registry
that were denounced were not resolved; specifications for the
technical audits have not been approved; the General
Electoral Rules have not been approved nor published; the
electronic voting machines have not been properly tested,
stored, or guarded; there are no representatives or witnesses
from different organizations at the different levels of the
electoral process; and the CNE Directorate is still one
member short since no official has been named to replace
Ezequiel Zamora.

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International Observers
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9. (U) In early October, the CNE issued invitations to some
international observers. The Carter Center declined the
invitation citing lack of time and resources to adequately
observe, and the lack of confidence in their ability by
political actors. The Organization of American States (OAS)
also declined saying there was insufficient time to prepare
an election observation team. The European Union will not be
sending an observation team. (Comment: We believe the
invitations were for show, since the CNE knows well the
Carter Center and OAS and EU requirements to mount an
observation.)

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Comment
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10. (C) The CNE declaration that the electoral registry is
not a problem as the opposition claims comes as no surprise,
and Carrasquero's statement about Mejias "political actions"
is irony at its best. The opposition's and Sumate's court
challenge will languish as it is unlikely that the Supreme
Court will issue any decision to contradict the CNE before
the regional elections. Predictions of low turnout by
opposition voters are likely being exacerbated by the CNE's
continuing and public disregard for what the opposition
claims are unequal and illegal voting conditions.


11. (C) The main challenge the opposition faces is
abstentionism, some of it fueled by opposition leaders'
statements after the 8/15 referendum. Having questioned the
fairness of the CNE, it is harder for them to convince voters
to stand in line again to vote. The regional races remain
important, both in terms of giving the opposition authority
and resources, and in terms of developing future leaders.
Brownfield


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2004CARACA03292 - CONFIDENTIAL