Despite
a high level of election transparency, one that Jimmy Carter called
“the best in the world”, the US and its allies have accused
Venezuela of election fraud. Caleb Maupin breaks down how Venezuela’s
electoral system really works.
by
Caleb T. Maupin
Part
2 - A high level of transparency – “The Best in the World”
The
Venezuelan government goes out of its way to ensure electoral
participation and transparency. Article 63 of the Bolivarian
Constitution says: “Suffrage is a right. It is exercised through
free, universal, direct and secret ballots. The law will guarantee
the principle of individuality of suffrage and proportional
representation.”
In
Venezuela, the vote is held on a weekend in order to ensure that
people do not miss out on the opportunity to vote because they have
to work.
Citizens
register to vote with their thumbprints, so that no one can vote
claiming to be someone else. Poll close at 6 p.m.; however, if even a
single line of people remains, polls are required to remain open
until every citizen has had an opportunity to cast his or her ballot.
Venezuelan
law also stipulates that there must be one voting center for every
500 residents.
People
who have been convicted of crimes are permitted to vote in Venezuela
after being released from prison, and only those currently serving
sentences are disenfranchised. The National Elections Center (CNE)
arranges for voting machines to be set up in jails so that those
being detained or awaiting trial can vote.
An
electronic tally is taken by the voting machines, but each voter
receives a printed receipt showing who they voted for. The printed
receipts are collected, and 53 percent of the country’s voting
centers undergo official audit to assure that the printed receipts
match the numbers of the electronic tally after the polls close.
The
audits are held publicly, and observers from political parties must
sign the audits to confirm they were legitimate. Venezuela is the
only country in the world to have a public audit of the vote on
Election Night.
International
bodies that have previously monitored Venezuelan elections have said
their results are legitimate. In 2012, former U.S. President Jimmy
Carter, director of the Carter Center for Fair Elections, which
oversaw the Venezuela polls, declared: “As a matter of fact, of
the 92 elections that we’ve monitored, I would say the election
process in Venezuela is the best in the world.”
A number
of international observers were on hand during the May 20 election
and declared the results to be legitimate.
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