UN panel of experts: “The CNE has not achieved fundamental measures of transparency and integrity”
The UN group of experts has finally released a preliminary report based on what they saw in the July 28 elections. In the document, which was initially said to be private, they point out that “the CNE's results management process [Consejo Nacional Electoral] “It failed to respect the fundamental measures of transparency and integrity that are essential to the conduct of credible elections.” It continued: “It also failed to comply with national legal and regulatory provisions and all established deadlines were not respected.” “In the experience of the panel, the announcement of the result of an election without publication of its details or disclosure of the tabulated results to candidates is unprecedented in contemporary democratic elections.”
The lack of dissemination of the minutes, according to the UN, “had a negative impact on the confidence of a large part of the electorate” in the announced result that gave Nicolas Maduro the winner. Although the panel of international experts maintained good communication with the CNE until July 28, they emphasize that after election day they were no longer able to contact the electoral council.
The internal report details a generally quiet election day. The problems, they point out, began when the polls closed. “The electronic transmission of results initially worked well, but was abruptly interrupted in the hours after the polls closed, with no information or explanation being provided at that time to the candidates or the jury,” they wrote. “At the time of the announcement of the results, the president of the CNE declared that a terrorist cyberattack had affected the transmission and caused a delay in the compilation process. However, the CNE postponed and then cancelled three key post-election audits, including one on the communications system that could have shed light on the occurrence of external attacks on the transmission infrastructure. The document also mentions the problem of the minutes, which until Tuesday had not been published by the electoral authority, although it had “guaranteed that it would do so.”
The release of the document has sparked anger among Chavismo. As initially agreed, only the CNE and the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, would have access to the report. However, the organization announced this Tuesday that it would make it public. “They signed, they have no words, they are trash without a word. This panel of experts is a panel of trash,” criticized Jorge Rodríguez, president of the Parliament and Maduro's main political operator.