CARACAS – The electoral chamber in charge of reviewing the audit of the presidential elections held on July 28 in Venezuela announced to the media a day ago that the review of the documents submitted by the National Electoral Council and former candidates has entered its final phase.
As the president of Venezuela’s highest court, Cariclia Rodríguez Rodríguez, explained, after completing hearings with the 10 former presidential candidates and the 38 politically motivated organizations that participated in the elections, her court is preparing to implement the expert opinion of all electoral materials recorded physically and digitally.
In turn, the Chamber issued a document highlighting that the investigation is carried out by highly qualified personnel, using the highest technical standards, to ensure that disputes are resolved in a sovereign and fair manner.
All electoral materials of evidentiary value sent by the electoral authority and the 33 out of 38 political organizations summoned to the hearings on August 7, 8 and 9 are being investigated.
Among the documents that the court must verify are all the information and evidence provided by the National Electoral Council on August 5, as well as the minutes and testimonies provided by the various forces and competitors participating in the elections.
The judge presiding over the Supreme Judicial Court (TSJ) stressed that the expert opinion is being given in order to issue the final ruling that responds to the controversial appeal filed by the re-elected president, Nicolás Maduro Moros, with the aim of protecting the peace and stability of Venezuela.
Likewise, everything related to the massive cyber attack that affected the Venezuelan electoral system on July 28, the day of the presidential election, will be reviewed.
The Electoral Chamber is part of the Supreme Judicial Court of Venezuela, and is therefore the highest instance, the one in which the ruling is binding and not subject to appeal.
In contempt
In her assessment of the media, the President of the Electoral Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice also pointed out that former candidate Edmundo González Urrutia is violating the highest judicial body.
He stressed that the parties that supported him did not provide sources indicating that fraud had occurred or any other information proving the validity of the alleged victory of this former candidate.
Of the ten former candidates cited by the electoral court, all but González Urrutia were present, along with Antonio Icari, José Brito, Enrique Márquez, Luis Eduardo Martínez, Daniel Ceballos, Javier Bertucci, Claudio Fermin, Benjamin Rausio and Nicolás Maduro.
In turn, the judiciary explained that the applicants for the former candidate González Urrutia, members of the Unitarian Democratic Platform (PUD) coalition, also did not submit electoral materials, and claimed that they did not have any type of documentation related to the process, such as vote count records and witness lists.
He stressed that the National Electoral Commission, in its appearance, fully complied with “the requirements set by the electoral chamber, by registering all requirements related to the process quickly and in a timely manner.”
Attack on legitimacy
In another paragraph of his statement, Rodriguez Rodriguez stressed that the UDF indicated that it was not involved in the transportation and preservation of electoral materials, while noting that Sumati was part of the coalition’s technical advisory team.
Súmate is a Venezuelan organization historically linked to the US State Department and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), which has been accused of operating as a CIA franchise under the guise of civil society and which considers María Corina Machado one of the most prominent figures in the organization.
Founded in the context of the 2002 coup attempt against President Hugo Chavez, Sumati has received significant funding from the NED and other US entities to advance political agendas challenging the Venezuelan government.
Recently, the Caribbean nation’s attorney general’s office linked the attempt to change the results of the National Electoral Council to the holding of primary elections for a sector of the opposition in October 2023.
According to the investigation body, these elections were organized by Sumati without verification or auditing mechanisms. Moreover, the prosecutor’s office points out that although more than 350,000 people did not participate, the NGO indicated that participation was 2.4 million people.
About the opposition minutes
The President of the Electoral Chamber also referred to the alleged audit report found on the website www.resultadospresidencialesvenezuela2024.com.
In this regard, the judge noted that members of the opposition coalition who were consulted informed the court that they did not know who had published it.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office is currently investigating the said action to determine responsibilities related to the alleged crimes: usurpation of functions, forgery of public documents, incitement to disobey laws, computer crimes, complicity in committing a crime and conspiracy, due to the concern it has caused to the population.
The reports presented by the Venezuelan far-right opposition, led by Edmundo González and María Corina Machado, on that electronic platform were denounced as false due to numerous irregularities pointed out by Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly.
Among these violations is the absence of signatures of polling station members, witnesses and machine operators in the minutes, which invalidates them.
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