Venezuelan politician complains about “lack of transparency” in election results

A Venezuelan election official has denounced what he called a “serious lack of transparency and credibility” in last month’s election results, criticizing authorities for declaring President Nicolás Maduro the winner despite his opponents presenting compelling evidence to the contrary and several foreign governments voicing doubts.

Juan Carlos Delpino is one of five members of the National Electoral Council (CNE) and the only one who had shown his willingness to act against the will of the Maduro government before the election.

On Monday, he posted a letter on social media listing several alleged irregularities before and on election day on July 28. He said polling stations were slow to report results from automated voting machines, while several opposition aides were banned, a violation of electoral rules that guarantee transparent transmission of results to CNE headquarters.

Delpino said he was informed that the hours-long delay was caused by an alleged hacking of the CNE platform and that only 58 percent of the results had been recorded. He said he decided in protest not to join his colleagues in monitoring the vote count from the CNE data hub or attend the midnight news conference when CNE President Elvis Amoroso, a ruling party supporter, declared Maduro the winner.

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“I deeply regret that the results do not serve the Venezuelan people, that they do not help resolve our differences or promote national unity, but instead sow doubts among the majority of Venezuelans and the international community,” Delpino wrote.

Delpino, an electoral expert close to one of Venezuela’s traditional opposition parties, was appointed to the CNE last year by the National Assembly controlled by Maduro’s allies after several predecessors were ousted.

His letter comes as Maduro reiterates his claims that he won re-election by more than a million votes. His government has ignored demands from the United States, the European Union and even left-wing allies from Brazil, Colombia and Mexico to release election results that would support such claims.

Meanwhile, the opposition has published seemingly authentic results from 80 percent of the voting machines on the Internet. These show that their candidate, Edmundo González, won by more than two-thirds of the votes.

Last week, Venezuela’s Supreme Court confirmed the results and declared that vote totals published online by the opposition were fraudulent. Attorney General Tarek William Saab ordered González to testify this week in a criminal investigation into alleged attempts to spread panic in the South American country by challenging the results.

González indicated on Sunday that he had no intention of complying with the order. He said his right to due process and Venezuela’s constitution were being trampled on and that the only authority he was accountable to was voters. He reiterated his demand that Maduro release the election results from some 30,000 voting machines across the country so that the results could be independently verified by international experts.

“Venezuela is experiencing moments of uncertainty and unease due to your efforts to suppress the desire for change,” González said, addressing Maduro directly in a video posted on social media. “The publication of the election results is the guarantee of peace.”

Former diplomat González and his main supporter, opposition leader María Corina Machado, went into hiding after the election, while security forces arrested more than 2,000 people and cracked down on demonstrations against the election results across the country.

The two called on Venezuelans to take to the streets on Wednesday to celebrate the month since their alleged election victory.

Meanwhile, the mothers of several people arrested by security forces gathered on Monday outside a maximum security prison in central Venezuela, where dozens of inmates arrived following a transfer order. Several mothers held signs reading “They are not terrorists” and “Free our children,” and said their relatives were arrested far from anti-Maduro demonstrations.

Eliana Perez said her two adult children were returning home from work and were sitting in a car when they were arrested at a police checkpoint.

“There were no traffic restrictions, no curfew,” said Perez, holding back tears. “They are suffering terribly because they have never had any problems with the law.”

In an interview with the New York Times published on Monday, Delpino said he, too, had gone into hiding.

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In his letter, he also highlighted a number of irregular decisions by the CNE, including the lack of pre-vote meetings, which made it difficult to establish clear rules for the participation of electoral workers, international observers and millions of Venezuelans living abroad.