CARACAS, March 19- The Venezuelan electoral system guarantees the transparency of the process and respect for the sovereign decision of each citizen when they vote, President of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Tibisay Lucena said.
He said that the integrity of the mechanism used is supported by a programme of audits for the different phases.
As an example, she said 52 percent of the voting machines are being audited, along with the extension of the operational hours at voting centres for people to cast their votes. Lucena said Venezuela’s CNE has the legal authority to invite international observers, as it has planned for the elections on April 14.
This was Lucena’s response to a recent statement by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Latin America, Roberta Jacobson, who said it was going to be difficult to have transparent elections in Venezuela. However, Lucena noted that audits of the voting system are prohibited in the United States. Venezuela will begin its elections in April, with seven candidates
competing for the presidency.
BERNAMA
