Automation of presidential vote ensured

Sep 22
Smartmatic to program balloting machines
The National Electoral Council (CNE) plans to achieve technological independence have been postponed until the elections of 2007, as the top electoral body president, Tibisay Lucena, Sunday confirmed that the 33,000 balloting machines for next December 3rd presidential election will be programmed by Smartmatic rather than by the experts of the CNE National Electoral Committee.

CNE directors expected to minimize the involvement of Smartmatic, Cantv, Cogent System and Gilat Network in the preparations for the presidential poll. However, these firms will again be in charge of programming the balloting machines, transmitting the election results, calibrating the fingerprint-reading machines and satellite transmission of the voters' biometric data.

The only task CNE is to take on from Smartmatic is the training of 33,000 operators for automated balloting machines. In order to complete such an activity, CNE has a budget of USD 220,000.

CNE is also to install the antennas for data transmission from fingerprint-capture machines. Since the presidential recall vote -in August 2004- this activity was in the hands of Gilat Network. For such a data transmission platform, CNE has a budget of USD 1.6 million.

During this week, CNE is to request transfer of USD 60 million from the National Budget Office in order to execute the agreements ensuring automation of the upcoming presidential election.

With Smartmatic, CNE is to initial a USD 26 million agreement for balloting machines programming, transportation to balloting centers, and testing of software, ballot count and totaling systems.

Challenging enrollment of 480,000 new voters
Registration of 487,831 citizens as new voters in the Electoral Register (RE) since 2003 will be challenged over the next few hours, because they were included by administrative means without observing legal formalities, Oscar Pérez, a member of opposition Comando Nacional de la Resistencia (National Resistance Command) informed.

"Interestingly, despite being new electors, most of them are over 30 years old. Additionally, their home address is Margabel house, El Llanito urbanization, Sucre municipality, central Miranda state," the spokesman said.

"If the National Electoral Council (CNE) is to correct irregularities in the census, we ask it to submit, for the purposes of review, assessment and attestation, the 487,831 registration forms that substantiate the inclusion of new voters."

Rosales asks OAS for impartial observation
Single opposition candidate Manuel Rosales plans to ask the Organization of American States (OAS) to take part as "impartial, unbiased and transparent observer" in the presidential election of Sunday, December 3rd.

In a letter delivered Monday at the OAS head offices in Caracas, Rosales explained to OAS Secretary-General José Miguel Insulza that political parties and voters supporting him want to have "comprehensive electoral observation, before, during and after the polls."

The observation, he added, "should abide by the Inter-American Democratic Charter in terms of international observation, i.e., objective, unbiased and transparent."

"The election for president of December 3rd will be transcendental for the political process and the Venezuelan democracy," stated the letter disclosed by Timoteo Zambrano, director of International Affairs of Rosales' campaign team.

Rausseo complains about biased surveys
"Those opinion polls that give me such a poor scoring are not right at all, they are biased," claimed opposition candidate for president Benjamín Rausseo.

If the results of such surveys are true, "I should not be a major danger," he asserted during an interview in TV show "En Confianza" aired on official channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV). In politics, he reasoned, there is no small opponent.

"You do not need to be a magician to realize that (President Hugo) Chávez goes first. But remember that in 1999, when he run for president, nobody would give him the first position, and look at the outcome," he acknowledged, as quoted by official news agency ABN.

Rausseo insisted on saying that he will continue until December 3rd. "Leave me alone with the alleged low scoring shown by such surveys. We will see who will give up eventually."

Rosales claims that government gangs disrupt his campaign
Single opposition candidate Manuel Rosales charged Tuesday the National Government with commissioning hoodlums to disrupt electioneering in grassroots sectors nationwide.

Rosales walked Tuesday down Carapita, in western Caracas. "Recent events have been provoked by hit gangs sent by the Government," he said during the march. He held the Government responsible for his safety and any violent occurrence in Venezuela.

The candidate asked for respect of all candidates. "We need to be brothers."

Army officers should not take part in electioneering
"While citizens cannot be prevented from exercising their political rights," active members of the national armed forces willing to engage in electioneering should quit, Defense Minister Raúl Isaías Baduel clarified.

The minister quoted article 330 of the National Constitution. "We are not allowed to participate in electioneering," he warned.

"I can put myself as an example. Raúl Baduel, during his incumbency as active soldier, cannot infringe this constitutional rule. He, who violates it, will be subject to the relevant penalties. We will enforce it strenuously," the minister replied. Reference was made to potential membership of reservists in the campaign team of President Hugo Chávez, who is running for re-election.

Last Tuesday, Reserve ex commander Julio Quintero Viloria reported that reservists would join the Miranda campaign taskforce to reach the target of 10 million voters on behalf of President Chávez.

Rosales vows to convince "ni-ni"
In line with his electoral agenda, single opposition candidate Manuel Rosales visited Wednesday low-income sectors in the cities of Guarenas and Guatire, central Miranda state.

"I expect to convince a few ni-ni," the challenger said in reference to a segment of voters who are still undecided.

He noted that surveys show a candidacy growing and another being stagnated.

"This trend will be kept and positive and there will be favorable results for a new government and a new president," he asserted.

"I tell all of those who are independent, that I want to be a president to unite Venezuela. All of us want to live in peace, want Venezuela to make progress, to end with the violence sparked by the Government itself. And I am going to be the president of 26 million Venezuelans," the candidate promised.

Over USD 39 million for automated polls
The National Electoral Council (CNE) received USD 39.7 million to ensure automation of next December 3rd presidential election. The funds were okayed by the National Assembly Finance Committee.

Funds were transferred from the monies set aside for procurement of the new headquarters of CNE, and therefore CNE change to another building will not take place this current year.

Resources will be apportioned as follows: USD 36.2 million for the project for technological infrastructure of automated vote. USD 2.1 million will bridge "a deficit in the installation and operation of electoral register data updating centers nationwide," the National Assembly Finance Committee said in a press release.

Further USD 1.1 million will be devoted to purchase of equipment and engagement of services for development of CNE technological platform.

Other USD 78,000 devoted equipment procurement and engagement of services to develop systems at CNE Digitalization Room. This loan came from real assets.

And last, USD 23,000 will be invested to purchase new equipment, software and input to expand existing balloting centers and create new ones, the Finance Committee added in its communiqué.

Rosales warrants favoring of domestic agriculture
Agricultural production in Venezuela is "badly damaged, because this government has implemented a port policy. It pays foreign nations hundred million dollars to bring food that Venezuelan peasants are able to produce," single opposition candidate Manuel Rosales said in central-western Guárico state.

Rosales promised to replace such policy with a domestic production policy.

He repeated that the domestic production should not be damaged to the benefit of foreign countries. "It is not only the production of sorghum, rice, corn, or any other food item, but Guárico needs to become a great transformer in the agro-alimentary sector."

The candidate briefed on the review of a railroad project that could create over 300,000 direct and indirect jobs in the state.

CNE starts choosing polling workers in election for president
National Electoral Council (CNE) president Tibisay Lucena kicked off Thursday the process to select the polling staff who will work in the presidential election on Sunday, December 3rd.

The process based on public and computerized selection will be extended until Friday.

A total of 33,439 polling stations will be used, including 601,902 polling workers.

Lucena repeated that the board approved Wednesday the initiation of administrative proceedings for alleged violation of the regulations on advertising and propaganda.

Agencies investigated are the National Housing Institute (Inavi), Ministry of Communication and Information, Mara Mayoralty in western Zulia state, Aguas Blancas Mayoralty in western Portuguesa state and some council members of eastern Anzoátegui state.

Rausseo asks TSJ to remove fingerprint-reading machines
Opposition candidate Benjamín Rausseo filed a petition Friday with the Constitutional Court, Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) to remove fingerprint-reading machines from the voting system. The National Electoral Council intends to use the device in the presidential polls of December 3rd.

The candidate of Partido Independiente Electoral de Respuesta Avanzada (Piedra) argued that the machines exert psychological pressure on voters and damage participation in the democratic process.

He explained that the use of such machines runs counter to the Constitution.

Rosales' campaign taskforce sworn in
A number of professionals and technicians in support of single opposition candidate Manuel Rosales were sworn in Friday at Caracas Aetheneum. During the ceremony, political leader and member of the challenger's campaign team Liliana Hernández proposed to review social welfare programs, but not to remove them.

She regretted that after seven years, Hugo Chávez Government has failed to solve major problems affecting most Venezuelans.

Hernández criticized also the inability of the Attorney General Office to solve a number of cases and the housing gap.

She wondered if the Attorney General Office was a tool for political chasing, in reference to a notice sent Friday to Alberto Federico Ravell, CEO of news TV channel Globovisión, to appear in court.

Rosales vows to respect private property
During a march Friday in western Cojedes state, single opposition candidate Manuel Rosales advocated agro-alimentary security in Venezuela.

With regard to expropriations, he said, "our philosophy entails respect for private property. We agree neither with large estate nor wastelands, but we will take the democratic way of dialogue, and pay for improvements made to the people who have occupied these lands."

The candidate running for president noted that by means of agreement, lands, machinery and resources will be allotted for peasants "to work."

He emphasized that nobody will be forced to join a cooperative, but plots of land will be granted to families.