The Venezuelan National Electoral Council (CNE) expressed its disagreement with the preliminary report of the panel of experts of the United Nations (UN) on the presidential elections held on July 28.

In a statement, the electoral body described the report as illegal and contrary to UN principles, “violating the terms of reference agreed with this Constitutional Power and, above all, riddled with lies and contradictions.”

A panel of experts from the United Nations stated that Venezuela’s recent presidential elections lacked “basic transparency and integrity,” in an interim report signed on August 9 and published by the United Nations this Tuesday, August 13.

The CNE statement notes that this group of experts was present throughout the process at the invitation of the CNE, “having access to extensive and permanent support throughout their deployment, as they are forced to admit in the infamous preliminary report.”

“However, the publication of a so-called report was not within its functions and demonstrates the perverse political intention of such dissemination, composed of fallacious and distorted arguments,” the CNE’s statement reads.

The CNE statement notes that Point 4 of the terms of reference agreed to between the UN and the CNE on June 29 establishes that the panel is not an observation mission and, therefore, “will not issue any public pronouncement or judgment on the process and/or the result of the elections.”

After publishing this preliminary report, the entity asserted that the panel of experts betrayed what was agreed with the CNE and violated the rules established by the UN.

“The content of this ‘report’ is a pamphlet-like document, and its ‘expertise’ is absolutely destroyed in view of the poor and easily disproven arguments used to try to delegitimize the impeccable and transparent electoral process carried out on July 28, as was confirmed by almost a thousand observers from all corners of the planet, who, unlike this panel of experts of the United Nations (UN), accompanied with integrity and rectitude the Venezuelan people in this celebration of their vigorous participatory and protagonist democracy,” reads the CNE statement.

Lies in the preliminary report
The CNE highlighted some of the “lies that they are trying to impose in the fraudulent” preliminary report of the UN experts.

In response to the claim that there were “last-minute changes to the voting tables,” the CNE denied this and said that no case or complaint had been presented to support this.

“In Point 9, although unlike their friends at the Carter Center, they do admit that the data transmission process was interrupted after the polling stations closed, they nevertheless try to cast doubt on the terrorist cyberattack suffered by the National Electoral Council (CNE) platform starting on the night of July 28 and continuing to this day, pointing out that no information or explanation was provided,” the entity says, recalling that national and international companies and specialists have confirmed this fact.

The CNE statement added that despite the delay in the process of transmitting the results, contingency protocols were applied that allowed the CNE to transmit 80% of the minutes, “with an irreversible result in favor of the candidate Nicolás Maduro.”

“These ‘experts’ must be reminded that neither the regulations nor the protocol provide for the delivery of minutes to observers,” the agency noted, recalling that in Venezuela voting is electronic and the counting is automated, as is the totalization, “where the integrity of the data is guaranteed through certification schemes.”

It also mentioned that the UN preliminary report is intended to support the “fraud published by the campaign command of one of the candidates,” highlighting the political agenda of this group and the interests they serve. “The ‘experts’ are committing an act of illegality by accepting as valid alleged records that come from unofficial sources.”

“With their political agenda against the Venezuelan people, these individuals call into question the credibility and reliability of the United Nations (UN) while mocking the trust placed in them by member states,” it added.

The CNE reaffirmed that despite unjustifiable attacks on the electoral system, “the truth will prevail over slander.”

(Últimas Noticias) by Maria Eugenia Rodriguez with Orinoco Tribune content

Translation: Orinoco Tribune