They urge to persist in the discussion on citizen participation in electoral processes

To more than three months of presidential elections and the post-electoral crisis, academics and other personalities who met on Tuesday at the UCV urge not to abandon the discussion on citizen participation in the electoral processes.

The first forum of Series of Conversations about Venezuela It began with the participation of Professor Eglée González Lobato, director of the Democracy and Elections Chair at the UCV, who highlighted that after what happened in the presidential elections, the non-recognition of the results by society and the international community, The threat of a conflict looms that has prevented re-institutionalization in the country.

“As the election approached, a correlation of war and politics was imposed, the denial of the organization of society and spaces for negotiation. We witnessed the deconstruction of politics as the dynamic of mutual exclusion occurred again. A presidential election has never functioned as a catalyst for conflict; and what we saw before and after July 28 is evidence of the CNE’s mediating incapacity, of the pulverization of political spaces and the imposition of some over others,” said González Lobato.

“Having robust institutions and a strengthened CNE is not a fetish, but a real possibility if the parties to the conflict overcome mutual exclusion and there are real guarantees of political and democratic coexistence. Today the CNE appears blurry in the face of the 2025 electoral cycle, when numerous positions, mayors, governors, legislative councils, municipal councils and the National Assembly will be elected,” he indicated.

And he added: “In this scenario, it is essential to create electoral governance tables as spaces for articulation, which promote different cycles of information meetings and communication where the academy begins the virtuous circle, but also businessmen, students, multilateral organizations and all those who can collaborate.”

The former rector Luis Emilio Rondón, coordinator of the Postgraduate Degree in Electoral Systems and Processes, emphasized that the best time to carry out electoral reforms is when an electoral process is not close. “On the contrary, if the electoral rules are modified in the face of the eventuality of the process, the risk of an approach only for that moment is taken, far from what could be a regulation that lasts over time. These electoral reforms must contribute to the stability of the political moment and not the opposite.”

He warned that every reform must have a clear objective, because if not, it may end in a reform that is “poorly worked out, without consensus and that ends up distancing voters much further from participation.”

Considers that it would be ideal if the current proposals for electoral reforms were related to removing discretion from the electoral administration, allowing for the expansion of the political and electoral rights of Venezuelans abroad, contributing to balance in electoral campaigns, privileging the development of the principle of electoral certainty, setting dates for electoral processes, among others.

“All this would contribute to fertilizing and strengthening the electoral system, as well as the formula and political representation. We cannot talk about politics without democracy, without talking about separation of powers, independence of powers, transparent elections. This goes beyond the vote, and sometimes it is regrettable to see how spaces are left open at times when the active participation of all political sectors is expected,” he said.

The former rector of the CNE Leonardo Morales, Coordinator of the Miguel Otero Silva Chair, said that the reforms of the electoral laws and processes should not be based on the objective of “getting rid of someone” but rather to create institutions that correspond to a country that aims to be democratic.

“We cannot enter this debate to get rid of executive figures, or look for a mechanism for this or that politician to arrive with his party, because in this way he would not be acting in favor of the interests of the country, but rather a reform convenient for some. or others. The electoral reform is to have conditions that serve citizens, democracy, because if it is only to solve a problem, we will have to accommodate it later with another reform,” he noted.

Therefore, he added, any reform must comply with the following aspects: the representation of those elements that are not linked to the system such as women and minorities, the fair representation of the percentage of votes, more or less similar to the percentage it has and not like some organizations that have a majority of votes; participation, simplicity and legitimacy.

He indicated that it will not always be possible to comply with all these elements, but it is essential to understand that a reform cannot be developed overnight, because if a comprehensive reform is to be carried out, the Constitution, the Lopre, as well as the Constitution, will also have to be reviewed. such as the Law of Political Parties: “If we want to make a reform that meets all the demands, it seems that by December 15 this should be resolved; If we want to do it well, there is no time, but it is always important to move forward.”

Route for the construction of electoral guarantees

Political leader Stalin González commented that during the last 25 years, the leadership has understood that the election is not an ultimate goal, but that it must be accompanied by political guarantees.

“There are ways to continue fighting for that expression of political change that we saw on July 28, fights can take place at the same time; because if we do not take this process of electoral reforms seriously, if we do not raise our voices, it will happen to us as we said at the beginning, it is not that we do not participate but that we do not recognize either. The call is to take on the processes seriously, with much larger agendas that are not reduced to electoral matters,” he stressed. “One of the most important elements, beyond participation, organization and who wins or loses, is that respect for the minority, today represented by Chavismo, but existing, remains. “Let there be guarantees for everyone.”

Grateful for the invitation to the forum: Electoral reforms and guarantees, organized by the Faculty of Legal and Political Sciences of the UCV, a current topic that we cannot ignore, and that requires that we Venezuelans get involved. https://t.co/VLXo92fMZq

— Stalin González (@stalin_gonzalez) November 13, 2024

He estimated that the electoral reforms promoted by the National Assembly elected in 2020 “do not seem to seek a balance, but rather to exclude the part of politics that has been harshest in the speech. We Venezuelans have to discuss these issues, debate participation in all its variants. We have experienced political decisions not to participate many times. It is about how we fight for more democracy, there must be negotiations, institutions and talking, always talking; but by refusing we will not be able to build anything. We must overcome the stage in which the discussion focuses only on the electoral issue, and think about the political and social guarantees, that we can all vote and exercise our right and that it be respected,” he stated.

This first forum concluded with the intervention of the former rector of the CNE Vicente Díaz, who described it as a serious mistake that the opposition that lives in the MUD “keeps the fight only for July 28, because that is not the only thing; We must discuss the rest of the policy that is still going on”, it is necessary to attend to several times and boards simultaneously.

“Although the CNE broke the law by not presenting the results table by table, we cannot walk away. We have to participate, whether they stop us or not, listen to us or not, but what cannot happen is that we pretend that this debate does not exist,” he said.

He agreed with González Lobato that these discussions do not only concern political parties, but also academies, businessmen, unions and unions throughout the country. “Politics affects the lives of all citizens,” he added.

Díaz highlighted the need to respect and comply with the law. “Before thinking about the reform, citizens must demand compliance with the law because the bulletin of detailed results was not published as established by Venezuelan laws; and until now the election cannot be verified because the electoral guarantee is not the word of the rectors but rather they can be audited.”