Three Key Venezuelan Opposition Parties Declare Withdrawal from Elections
By: Alessandro Parma & Gregory Wilpert – Venezuelanalysis.com
Two of Venezuela’s key opposition parties, Accion Democratica (AD), Copei, and Proyecto Venezuela announced today that
they would not take part in the elections for Venezuela’s National Assembly on Sunday December 4. They both said this
was because of a lack of trust in Venezuela’s electoral system.
For the past week, the opposition has raised questions about the secrecy of the electronic voting machines that will be
used in the election. The main issue was regarding the use of fingerprint scanners. Because of these worries the
Venezuelan Electoral Council, or CNE, said last night that the fingerprint scanners will not be used.
Yesterday electoral observers from the Organization of American States (OAS) said with the removal of the scanners the
voting machines were completely safe and reliable to use. An OAS spokesperson said yesterday, “The secrecy of the vote
in this process will not be violated.”