The Civil Association Súmate warned on Wednesday that more than 10 million Venezuelans will not be able to vote in the 2024 presidential elections, if the National Electoral Council (CNE) does not update the Electoral Registry.
“Between April 2022 and December 2024, the right to elect must be guaranteed to more than 10 million Venezuelans, who must register or update their data in the Electoral Registry,” the organization said in a statement. release.
Súmate made the calculations based on data from the CNE, the National Institute of Statistics (INE) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) of the United Nations.
They indicated that of the more than 10 million citizens, at least 3,017,037 of voting age (in the age range between 18 to 45 years) were not registered in the Electoral Registry until April 2022.
1,396,356 young people will turn 18 between April 2022 and December 2024, so it must be guaranteed that they can register in the registry.
While at least 3,299,663 Venezuelans over the age of 18 who reside outside the country and are registered to vote within Venezuela, need to update their residence data and their voting center abroad.
Lastly, 2,574,831 Venezuelans registered in the RE need to update their residence data and their voting center within Venezuela.
“According to the INE, the population projection as of December 2024 is 34,268,343 inhabitants, of which at least 75% will be over 18 years old, which is the age to vote and be registered in the Electoral Registry. This implies that of some 25,700,000 Venezuelans who would be of voting age by 2024, inside and outside the country, more than 10 million (4 out of 10) would not be able to do so in the 2024 presidential election if the CNE does not start now with a plan to guarantee the right to choose, so that this group of Venezuelans is not excluded,” Súmate warned.
CNE must guarantee the right to vote
The organization urged the CNE to take pertinent actions during the next two and a half years to guarantee that all these people can exercise their right to vote, as indicated in the Venezuelan Constitution.
Regarding Venezuelans who are abroad, they point out that it is necessary to build agreements with the receiving countries of the Venezuelan diaspora to increase the number of points for Registration and Updating in their main cities.
It also recommends studying and implementing remote mechanisms with the use of technological means or by correspondence for Registration and Updating in the RE, and establishing mechanisms so that on election day the vote of Venezuelans abroad is counted in a timely manner (totalization in time real).
