(Video) Political, social and trade union organizations demand an audit and propose a democratic popular front

08-02-24.- This Thursday, a group of political, trade union and social organizations asked the National Electoral Council (CNE) to comply with the “auditable protocol” and to “publish immediately and item by item” the results of last Sunday’s elections.

The groups announced that next Saturday, August 3, they would hold a congress in Caracas to form a democratic popular front “to defend the constitution and sovereignty.”

Below, we reproduce the statement in full:

A group of social and political organizations with a democratic and popular mission have decided to speak together and publicly about the recent Venezuelan electoral process, its provisional results, its shortcomings and the consequences it has for the country; and to propose democratic solutions to the current situation.

Last July 28, the Venezuelan people celebrated an extraordinary civic day, expressing their will on a massive scale and demonstrating a decisive democratic mission in keeping with tradition.

However, various events have cast a shadow over the process, preventing us from having full confidence in the results announced by the President of the CNE, Elvis Amoroso. Among them: a) a complaint filed by a candidate that Communiqué No. 1, read by Amoroso in the early hours of the 29th, was not printed in the totaling room in the presence of witnesses from all parties, as shown in the picture, according to the protocol that should have been implemented; b) a complaint from another candidate’s team that the result announced by Amoroso (declaring the incumbent President Nicolás Maduro the winner) does not correspond to the 80% of the minutes he has; c) the declaration of Nicolás Maduro as the President-elect, despite the fact that there are still 20% of the minutes to be counted (equivalent to more than 2 million votes), which could change the final result; d) the complaint of the President of the CNE about a massive hacking attack on the electoral platform, considered impeccable, which meant that the data transmission was interrupted on the 28th; e) the failure to publish the classified results in the form of tables, as happened a few hours after the end of previous processes, thus preventing citizens from verifying the process. The strengths of Venezuela’s electoral system, tested through dozens of elections, are its transparency and auditability. This time, some facts and complaints severely limit these characteristics, undermining the credibility of some of the CNE’s announcements.

Amoroso’s announcement was followed by a wave of mass mobilizations in the country’s main cities, contesting the results announced by the CNE. These occurred especially in popular areas. This is a fact that needs to be emphasized. Unlike other recent mobilizations to contest the results of the election, these did not take place in middle- and high-income areas that have traditionally been aligned with the right-wing political opposition; but in neighborhoods and towns that have been protagonists of the political and social process led by President Chavez in the past. These demonstrations were overwhelmingly peaceful: people took to the streets, spontaneously marched, banged pots and pans, and chanted slogans. Some of them unleashed violence, carrying out deplorable attacks on PSUV militants, houses and other property of the party. The state responded by criminalizing the protests in general, labeling them all as violent and terrorist. It has prosecuted more than 1,000 people and has mobilized not only security forces but also beloved civilians, who have shot at protesters and, in some cases, arrested and disappeared people.

Yesterday, July 31, President Nicolás Maduro went to the TSJ electoral chamber to file an appeal for his intervention in the totalization process, which has not yet been concluded, and in the investigation of alleged electoral crimes.

In light of these facts, we point out the following:

1. Democracy and the full exercise of popular sovereignty through the right to vote in the elections of the highest organs of state power are threatened by the failures and negligence of the National Electoral Council. In this sense, we ask the CNE to comply with the auditable protocol and publish the classified results as soon as possible, tabulated by tabulated. First of all, it is the responsibility of the President of the CNE to maintain peace in the Republic at this time and to fulfill the duties conferred by the Constitution.

2. We advocate for the Venezuelan people’s right to demonstrate. Mobilization and expression are the means by which we realize other rights, make fair demands and bring about change. The overwhelming majority of demonstrations that took place between July 29 and 31 were peaceful and legal, and in this sense we question the widespread criminalization practiced by the high level of government. We ask the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate the legality of mass arrests, the human rights situation of detainees and the relevance of the criminal offenses designated by the Federal Attorney General (terrorism, incitement to hatred); as well as the illegal actions of armed civilians acting with the acquiescence of the State.

3. We strongly oppose the hatred and violence expressed by a small group of protesters against PSUV militants and their political parties, and we express our solidarity with their families and other activists. These facts must be duly investigated and punished.

4. We believe that the actions taken by the TSJ in the context of a yet-to-be-completed aggregation and audit process may not contribute to the necessary transparency and speed of the process. The path to peace and democracy implies transparent, auditable and rapid actions by the CNE. Any institutional action that impedes this is aimed at creating violence and weakening the guarantees of the people’s political rights.

5. We welcome the position of the Governments of Brazil and Colombia, which have united in calling for transparency and auditability of this process within the Venezuelan legislative framework as a guarantee of peace and the full exercise of democracy.

6. Finally, we invite the people and organizations of the democratic field to form a broad front that will enable us to act together despite our differences, in support of Venezuelan democracy and in defense of our civil, political and social rights, which are being seriously violated.