AP, Xinhua, Prensa Latina and Reuters

The newspaper La Jornada
Thursday, August 15, 2024, p. 26

Caracas. The National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela yesterday repudiated the preliminary report of a panel of experts from the United Nations Organization that accused it of not complying with measures of basic transparency and integrity in the elections that proclaimed President Nicolás Maduro re-elected for a third term, a result unknown to the opposition, which alleges fraud without evidence, and has been supported by the United States and several governments in the region and Europe.

The CNE board of directors classified the report as illegal, contrary to the principles of the UN, violating the terms of reference agreed with this constitutional power and above all, riddled with lies and contradictions.

The publication of the report It was not within its functions and demonstrates the perverse political intention of such dissemination, composed of fallacious and disfigured arguments.the CNE added in a statement.

The electoral authorities cited the terms of reference agreed between the United Nations and the electoral body in which it was established that The panel is not an observation mission and will therefore not issue any public pronouncement or judgment on the process and/or outcome of the elections..

Although the UN group praised the logistical organization of the vote, it harshly criticized the CNE for not complying with Venezuelan electoral regulations and announcing Maduro as the winner without showing the results from each of the 30,000 voting booths across the country, something that, it said, was unprecedented in contemporary democratic elections.

This had a negative impact on confidence in the result announced by the CNE among a large part of the Venezuelan electorate.the UN experts said in a statement issued last night.

While the U.N. team stopped short of validating opposition claims that its candidate, former diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez, defeated Maduro, it said the voting records the opposition coalition posted online appeared to have all the security features of an original document.

The CNE maintained that Despite unjustifiable attacks on our electoral system and our good faith, the truth will prevail over slander.

For his part, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, expressed his concern the day before yesterday about arbitrary detentions and the disproportionate use of force In Venezuela, declaration rejected by the Bolivarian government in the strongest terms.

Lula-Petro conversation

Meanwhile, the presidents of Brazil and Colombia discussed negotiating an end to the Venezuelan crisis in a phone call.

I took my time because I was on a phone call with Colombia trying to see if we can find a way out of the problem in Venezuela, to see if we can restore democratic tranquility in that country.said Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in a speech during an event at the Planalto Palace.