Venezuela’s Electoral Body Officially Sets Dates of 2012 National Elections
Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) has made official the dates for the national elections to be held in the country later this year, while calling on all candidates to make a public commitment to recognise the results.
Mérida, 30th March 2012 (Venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) has made official the dates for the national elections to be held in the country later this year, while calling on all candidates to make a public commitment to recognise the results.
The presidential election is set to be held on 7 October, and regional elections for state governors on 16 December, as previously stated. This means that the presidential election campaign will officially last from 1 July to 4 October and regional election campaigns from 20 October to 14 December.
“The approved lapses and timetable for the elections begin from now. The guarantees are given. We will comply with every single one,” stated CNE president Tibisay Lucena to press yesterday.
“We will carry out the elections, as is custom in our country, in peace and with joy…the Electoral Power guarantees the sovereign will of the people,” she continued.
It was also confirmed that since the opening of registrations last year 1,123,945 new voters had registered on Venezuela’s electoral roll, with registrations set to close on 15 April. In 2011 almost 1,500 new voting centres were also established.
Venezuela’s electoral register grew from 12,260,895 in 2003 to 18,156,114 by 15 October last year, an increase of almost 6 million people.
The CNE president also called on all candidates in the upcoming elections to commit to recognise the results in advance, “whatever they are,” to contribute to the elections being held in “favourable conditions”.
With respect to the presidential elections, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who is running for a third term in office, has already made clear on several occasions he will recognise the results announced by the CNE.
His opposition rival Henrique Capriles Radonski has not made such a commitment so far, limiting himself to stating that “everything I’ve achieved in politics, I’ve achieved through the vote”. Capriles participated in the 2002 short lived coup against Chavez.