Pedro Calzadilla said that “for the sake of contributing to peace” they have placed their positions in order until the Legislative power is the one that once again chooses “a CNE that represents the democratic sectors.” The changes do not include the main rectors Roberto Picón and Enrique Márquez, the latter vice president of the CNE. The organization’s board of directors was already facing a vacancy after the appointment of Tania D’Amelio as a magistrate of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ)
The president of the National Electoral CouncilPedro Calzadilla, ratified this Thursday, June 15, the decision to resign from the Electoral power by a group of eight rectors of the organization, and assured that the board of directors will remain in their positions until the National Assembly elected in 2020 chooses the new authorities.
From the CNE headquarters, in downtown Caracas, Calzadilla read a brief statement to present his resignation and that of the main rector Alexis Corredor, as well as the substitute rectors Leonel Párica, Carlos Quintero, Francisco Garcés, Gustavo Vizcaíno, Saúl Bernal and Rafael Chacón .
Live | Pedro Calzadilla assures that the functions of the electoral body will continue until there is a new CNE #As it is #ClaroyRaspao pic.twitter.com/7aH2ucyQvw
– TalCual (@DiarioTalCual) June 15, 2023
The changes do not include the main rectors Roberto Picón and Enrique Márquez, the latter vice president of the CNE. The body’s board of directors was already facing a vacancy after the appointment in April 2022 of Tania D’Amelio as a magistrate of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ).
Despite the fact that the Organic Law of Electoral Power establishes that his absence had to be filled by his substitute, the board of directors never appointed Leonel Párica as the new principal rector, although he was a member of the Political Participation and Financing Commission and had been included in the commission technique to evaluate the participation of the CNE in the primaries of the Unitary Platform, which has not yet given a definitive answer on the conditions raised by the opposition.
In his statements, Calzadilla said that “in the interest of contributing to peace” they have put their positions in order until the Legislative power is the one that once again chooses “a CNE that represents the democratic sectors.”
“The CNE projects will continue to be executed without setbacks as an electoral power that is preparing for the upcoming processes,” said Calzadilla, who recalled that the new electoral phase in the country begins with the presidential elections, scheduled for 2024.
In addition, he pointed out that the political dialogue between the administration of Nicolás Maduro and a part of the opposition will govern this process. “For Venezuela to finish heading towards economic prosperity and political and social stability from which we were illegally diverted, depends a lot on the commitment and national vocation of all of us who are in the country.”
The president of the CNE highlighted in his speech, where questions to the press were not allowed, the modernization of the civil registry, “an exercise that has been made difficult by unilateral coercive measures.”
He also pointed out that as well as the exercise of suffrage, the CNE has the “delicate mission” of guaranteeing the right to identity so that Venezuelans can exercise their sovereignty.
The National Assembly elected in 2020 already included in its agenda for this Thursday the resignation of this group of main rectors and substitutes, in addition to the appointment of a new nominations commission, which will govern the process of choosing candidates.
for weeks, andhe Venezuelan Electoral Observatory warned that the “half stoppage” of the CNE kept him from making important decisions, such as those corresponding to voter registration. Other priority issues on the electoral agenda, “possibly more controversial due to their political impact, remain shelved.”
In Venezuela, pending elections at the municipal level are accumulating, as several mayors elected at the end of 2021 have separated from office, for having committed crimes or sudden death. According to the law, they must be temporarily replaced by another official until a new vote is held that allows a local government to be elected.
*Read also: Rector Márquez urges the CNE to call elections in municipalities with a lack of mayors
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