July 2022 THE VENEZUELAN ELECTORAL PROCESS How to ensure free, fair and transparent elections Policy Brief @DemocratasxVzla Photo: Agencia EFE | 2020 Kindly delete this note after editing this page. Thank you! Tip: Use links to go to a different page inside your presentation. Links work best for pages like this one! How: Highlight text, click on the link symbol on the toolbar, and select the page in your presentation that you want to connect. 01 Executive Summary 02 05 Policy Recommendations Context 10 Conclusions 11 About MDV 12 References 16 Annexes Table of Contents @DemocratasxVzla Contact Information mujeresxlademocraciaenvzla@gmail.com Photo: Vladstudioraw | Getty Images Executive Summary This report examines the current electoral context inside Venezuela, and offers practical recommendations for national and international actors to advance a credible and sustainable democratic transition and reconciliation process. The facts surrounding the most recent regional electoral process, held in November 2021, monitored by the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU-EOM) are particularly enlightening and point to major, systemic deficiencies in the country's electoral system. To address these deficiencies, this report recommends: (i) The consolidation of an efficient and trustworthy electoral administration body; (ii) The creation of an adequate electoral timetable; (iii) Updates to the electoral registry, paying special attention to the inclusion of refugees and migrants; (iv) Gender parity of candidates in all elections; (v) Independent, international observation of elections, along with the provision of technical assistance and electoral training to national actors. Although the conditions for holding free, fair and transparent elections are not yet in place, it is critical to take urgent steps now to lay the groundwork whereby the restoration of Venezuela’s democracy may be secured. 01 July 2022 @DemocratasxVzla Photo: Agencia EFE | 2020 Venezuela is undergoing a political, economic, and social crisis, which has affected all sectors of the population and sparked a humanitarian emergency. As a result of this crisis, over six million Venezuelans have been forced to flee the country and 94.5% of the population now live in poverty. As reported by the International Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and Human Rights Watch, the situation in Venezuela is characterized by serious human rights violations, including arbitrary detention, inhumane and degrading treatment, as well as severe violations of freedom of expression and the right to political participation. These violations have been made possible through the systematic dismantling of State institutions, hyperinflation, rampant corruption, and the methodical destruction of Venezuela’s democracy—a process which began in 1999 under Hugo Chavez and has intensified in recent years. Accordingly, Venezuela is today classified as an authoritarian regime, ranking last in IDEA’s Democracy Index in Latin America, and last in the world in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Rule of Law Index. Politically, Venezuela is at a crossroads. Efforts to achieve a negotiated solution via Norway-mediated talks held in Mexico City have been paralyzed since October 2021, I. Contexto 02 @DemocratasxVzla July 2022 when Nicolas Maduro’s delegation withdrew from the process, citing the extradition of Alex Saab to the United States on money laundering charges. The resumption of these negotiations would offer a critical opportunity to expand discussions on electoral matters, as agreed in points 1 (political rights for all) and 2 (electoral guarantees and observation) in the Memorandum of Understanding signed on August 16, 2021, by the delegations representing Nicolás Maduro and the Unitary Platform. Holding free, fair, and transparent elections is a fundamental step not only for the reestablishment of democracy, but also for the attainment of reconciliation in Venezuela. Such a process will contribute to the reconstruction of the political and social fabric and to the promotion of coexistence and respect for institutions. But to be effective, elections must be held "with integrity", meaning they must comply with the principles of respect for electoral democracy, ethical conduct, professionalism and accuracy, institutional safeguards, oversight and compliance, and transparency and accountability. I. Context 1 2 3 5 4 6 7 9 8 10 11 Venezuela’s legal framework is - with some exceptions - adequate to achieve an election “with integrity”. Venezuela has signed all main treaties on electoral matters and respect for civil and political human rights. Nevertheless, many conditions undermine the fairness of Venezuelan elections before election day even arrives. These include: 1. Arbitrary disqualification of opposition leaders; 2. Partisan use of State resources for campaigns; 3. Unequal access to traditional and social media during campaigning; 4. Arbitrary barring of registration of candidates; 5. Government blockage of websites; 6. Lack of judicial independence and violations of the essential rules of the rule of law. For example, Section 105 of the Organic Law of the Comptroller General's Office authorizes the Comptrollership to politically disqualify candidates, thereby curtailing their political rights by means of an administrative procedure. 7. Outdated electoral registry, which excludes the 6 million refugees and migrants that have left the country over the past decade. 03 @DemocratasxVzla July 2022 12 13 Photo: AndresAzp | 2008 KEY FACTS Exclusion of Venezuelan migrants and refugees 04 @DemocratasxVzla July 2022 According to the National Survey of Living Conditions (ENCOVI) of 2021, 94.5% of the population has been driven into poverty. 01 Poverty in Venezuela In the 2021 regional elections, the Venezuela Documenta Platform reported 755 irregularities in 550 polling stations. Electoral Irregularities 02 Exclusion of women In the 2021 regional elections, only 18% of the candidates for mayoralties were women, and in the case of governorships they represented only 12% of candidates. Venezuelan migrants are excluded from their right to vote. Of the 6.1 million Venezuelans abroad, only 107,967 are registered to vote. The lack of independence of the National Electoral Council (CNE) is one of the main obstacles to “electoral integrity” in Venezuela. This is because the CNE does not have functional impartiality, as there is no separation of powers and thus, the body is under the control of the ruling party. The aforementioned deficiencies were highlighted in the 2021 regional elections, when new arbitrary disqualifications occurred, as well as numerous electoral irregularities, including the use of State resources for partisan purposes and unequal access to the media, which according to the EU-EOM contributed to significant “structural deficiencies”. The Venezuela Document Platform reported 755 irregularities in 550 electoral centers, including puntos proselitistas (centers set up close to polling stations to incite voters to vote for Maduro-backed candidates) and political proselytism by polling station members, use of public resources to mobilize voters, offering prizes or payments to vote for Maduro-backed candidates, abuses in assisted voting, failures in voting machines and arbitrary changes of electoral centers. In addition, the National Electoral Center (CNE) recently issued a statement giving Venezuelan voters only a few hours to collect four million signatures supporting a recall— an impossibly short timeframe that "de facto" denied Venezuelans the possibility of activating the mechanism. These facts underline the absence of electoral freedoms and conditions to organize an electoral process that would allow the Venezuelan people to express their will. 15 17 14 15 16 17 04 03 Based on the aforementioned findings, we have generated a series of recommendations for both different national and international actors that can play a role in the transition and reconciliation process in Venezuela. TO THE NATIONAL AUTHORITIES affiliations (3 to the ruling party and 2 to the opposition). While this represents an improvement in terms of representation in comparison to the previous board, these overt political affiliations undermine the integrity of the electoral administration. It is necessary to highlight that the electoral body, aside from specific exceptions indicated in the Organic Law of the Electoral Power, takes decisions with a simple majority of its members (3 to 2). This condition blocks decisions that would favor the opposition (as occurred in the state of Barinas during the last electoral process). Therefore, we take up the proposal of Alarcón Deza et al. (2016) to prohibit the candidacy of all those who have held political positions over a certain period of time. Furthermore, following Alarcon Deza’s suggestions, we propose to reform the appointment process of board members. The appointment of CNE authorities is currently in charge of an electoral Nominations Committee composed of 11 MPs of the National Assembly and 10 members of other sectors. This means that the presence of civil society is not a guarantee of independence, since MPs maintain the decisive majority. We suggest to increase the number of representatives from civil society in the Nominations Committee to ensure the independence of the appointments. 05 @DemocratasxVzla July 2022 National Electoral Council (CNE) Reform: Following the recommendations of the EU-EOM, reform the National Electoral Council (CNE) so that it becomes a credible and efficient electoral management body with the following characteristics: II. Policy Recommendations 1. A legal framework that ensures its absolute independence. CNE members cannot be linked to organizations with political purposes (as established in Section 296 of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela) and must be selected on the basis of their competencies, not their ideology. 2. The CNE must be diverse and representative of the population, have full authority over the electoral process, and have functional and financial autonomy. Currently, the CNE does not fulfill these criteria. The institution is highly dependent on the partisan Supreme Court of Justice and Comptroller General’s Office. 3. According to the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, CNE authorities must not be members of any political party and must not have a political affiliation. Currently, the five CNE board members (“rectores”) have clear political 18 19 20 21 22 23 Gender Parity: Establish gender parity in candidacies for all elections. Women must have the same opportunities to compete in political processes as men. Although in Venezuela there is no legislated quota law, the CNE – in the exercise of its regulatory powers – has issued resolutory acts to ensure gender parity in specific processes, such as the "Special Regulations to Guarantee the Rights of Equal, Alternate and Political Participation of Legislators and Councilmen or Councilwomen in the 2021 Regional and Municipal Elections." This decree, which stipulates that there must be an equal number of men and women on party lists with alternate listing of candidates, has been criticized by Venezuelan NGO CEPAZ as "ambiguous and containing non-imperative language", and was mostly ignored or only partially enforced. 06 @DemocratasxVzla July 2022 It is thus recommended that a quota be enacted legislatively to ensure a percentage of 50% men and 50% women candidacies in all nominations at all political levels, including gubernatorial and mayoral positions, with strict implementation mechanisms and sanctions applied in case of non-compliance. Such a law should not only cover the representation of women in governing bodies, but also in executive positions. There is precedent for this type of measure in the region, with positive results. For example, Mexico successfully established gender parity in candidacies for the Federal Congress and State Congresses through a constitutional amendment in 2014. Five years later, a Court ruling endorsed parity in all levels of candidacies, which, until then, were only legislative. In 2020, the National Electoral Institute ordered that each party must include at least 7 women of its 15 gubernatorial candidates. This allowed Mexico to obtain the highest number of female governors in its history in the last federal elections of 2021. Efforts to ensure gender parity at all levels, however, must go past quotas to qualitative policies that promote women’s continued success once they are elected. This includes committees within the National Assembly and Political Parties that analyze proposed policies from a gendered perspective before they are adopted; a National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security; and greater resources for women political leaders, such as financing, capacity-building opportunities, and mentorship. Despite appearances, elections in Venezuela have a long way to go before having balanced participation of each gender. For example, in the November 2021 elections, while 49.44% of candidates for municipal and state legislatures were women (a statistic greatly influenced by the CNE’s mandated quota of 40-50% participation for each gender), the perception of parity is misleading. Despite the equitable number of women candidates in municipal and state legislative races, women politicians were excluded from the highest positions. And in gubernatorial and mayoral races, for which political parties were not mandated by the CNE to promote female candidacies, the numbers of women participating are dramatically lower. For mayoralties, only 18% of the nominees were women (women won 62 out of 335 mayoralties), and for governorships, only 12% of people nominated were women (women won only 2 out of 23 governorships). 26 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 07 @DemocratasxVzla July 2022 TO THE NATIONAL ELECTORAL COUNCIL (CNE): 1. First, the date of the first elections after the conditions for a democratic transition are agreed upon should be carefully planned to ensure that the necessary conditions for holding a free and fair election are already in place. This will help avoid further polarization and political violence. 2. Second, other elements that are important for the democratic transition must be taken into account when deciding on the electoral timetable. This includes planning the elections in coordination with elements such as justice mechanisms and constitutional and institutional reforms. This is essential since support to post- transitional authorities might wane and the transition process might be negatively affected if the elections are not seen as credible and accepted. 3. Finally, the timetable must include all phases of the process, respecting the timeframes established by law, and spaced out appropriately so that there are no conflicts. It is important to emphasize that, although the presidential elections are the most urgent, elections at all levels are necessary to consolidate democracy in the country. Expand the Electoral Registry: Facilitate the registration and update of the Electoral Registry within and outside the national territory. Ensure the inclusion of the population outside Venezuela, and establish a mechanism where refugees and migrants can be included. Electronic or postal registration should be enabled in all Consulates, and electronic or postal voting should be allowed for those populations that do not have the capacity to travel to the cities with consular representation. It is also important to carry out awareness campaigns on the importance of voting, especially among younger voters, since in Venezuela, as shown in Graph #1, abstention has increased in the latest electoral processes. Refugee and migrant- led organizations can also play a crucial role in this, as they often have access to information on the ground and know how to best reach different displaced populations. According to official figures of the Regional Interagency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants of Venezuela (R4V), 6,133,473 Venezuelans have been forced to flee the country. However, the latest figures available from the Electoral Registry (2020) show that there are only 107,967 registered voters abroad. Likewise, beyond the services that are currently offered by the Regional Electoral Offices, the CNE must carry out and guarantee registration and update sessions in Venezuela, in order to reduce the gap of unregistered Venezuelans within the national territory. Electoral Timeline and Sequence: Create an electoral timeline that stipulates all the stages, acts, and actions that must be complied with, in accordance with the provisions of the Organic Law of Electoral Processes and its General Regulations: 31 32 33 34 35 Furthermore, the process of notification and training of randomly selected members for electoral committees must be improved in order to ensure impartiality in polling places. 08 @DemocratasxVzla July 2022 Although the CNE has estimated that under- registration is less than 3.4% (some 745,000 persons), civil society organizations claim that this figure is higher (between two and three million persons). Electoral Committee Composition (at Polling Stations): Even when the electoral body is reformed, it is necessary to consider that the subordinate electoral bodies play an important role in guaranteeing a fair and transparent electoral process. The composition of electoral committees and bodies must align with the Organic Law of Electoral Processes: Members of the electoral committees (“Organismos Electorales Subalternos”), which include Regional, Municipal and Parochial Councils, as well as Polling Stations, shall be randomly drawn from a list of all voters (except those who are exempted from electoral service due to age, illness, work imperatives or being themselves candidates or political office holders). In the last processes, the non-profit civil association Súmate reported that 51% of the heads of the electoral committees were affiliated to the Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV), Nicolas Maduro’s political party. Likewise, the role of poll watchers (“testigos”) must be reinforced. They have the responsibility to observe the activities carried out at the polling station and record observed facts or irregularities. Poll watchers should receive training in electoral defense and accreditation. The presence of a main observer and two alternate observers in each polling place must be guaranteed. Citizen and Civil Society Participation: It is imperative to promote the participation of different actors of civil society and citizens in the design of institutions and the electoral schedule, as well as at the time of elections. Some possible mechanisms include: holding roundtables with civil society actors (NGOs, academics, and experts) to enrich the process of reform and implementation of electoral institutions and processes, conducting civic education campaigns with citizens with regards to the new institutions, and clear public communication regarding the entire institutionalization and decision-making process prior to the elections in a transparent manner. The electoral management body should create mechanisms for consultation with the electoral authorities, as well as establish observation mechanisms by civil society that make it possible to follow up on the respect of electoral standards and civil and political rights during elections. Finally, women and youths must be included, making them aware of the importance of their participation both in the act of voting and in the fulfillment of the mandatory electoral service. 37 38 39 40 41 42 36 09 @DemocratasxVzla July 2022 TO INTERNATIONAL ACTORS: International Pressure and Support for Political Negotiations: It is critical that the international community throw its full weight behind the Norway-mediated political negotiations. To that end, it is imperative to rebuild and rethink the international coalitions that are vital to international coordination on Venezuela and tie sanctions relief to the implementation of credible reforms that create the conditions for free, fair and verifiable elections and help to re-establish the rule of law. International Observation: Include international organizations as observers in a future electoral process in Venezuela, such as the Organization of American States (OAS), the United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and institutions such as The Carter Center, the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), which can support transitional electoral processes, as long as the conditions for holding elections are met. Technical Assistance: Provide technical assistance and training to Venezuelan electoral institutions, as well as to the international institutions, experts, and governments that will observe the electoral process. States and agencies willing to provide electoral assistance should view Venezuela's transition to democracy as a long-term objective, supporting the country in the creation of a comprehensive transitional framework, and should not limit themselves to supporting the elections as isolated events. 43 Refugee and Migrant Participation: Working in concert with Venezuelan civil society and refugee-led organizations, the international community must have in place a roadmap to engage and support the participation of the Venezuelan diaspora through out-of-country voting (OCV). OCV is a complex process that requires technical knowledge, financial resources, and oversight. Host countries and international organizations, such as the IOM, should provide geographic and demographic data to inform OCV decisions. International organizations should provide extensive technical support throughout the process drawing from past large-scale elections, while host countries should facilitate OCV by helping locate office space, loaning voting equipment (if physical polling stations are used), and providing security at polling stations or processing centers. In addition, support should be requested from international organizations in the compilation of the Electoral Registry of Venezuelans abroad. In some cases, international organizations and host countries may provide financial support to cover the costs of out-of-country elections, a process that tends to be more expensive than in-country voting. Last, the international community must observe and monitor the OCV process through multiple simultaneous institutions to prevent fraud. Conclusions July 2022 A process of transition and reconciliation in Venezuela must include free, fair, and transparent elections. These elections must be part of a comprehensive transition plan that considers the different actors present, the transitional context, and the necessary reforms before and after the process. There has been a steady decline in the levels of voter turnout during previous elections held in Venezuela. It is necessary that Venezuelans regain confidence in the voting process. This will only be possible if they have confidence that Venezuelan elections do in fact reflect the true views of the electorate. For this to happen, steps must be taken now by national authorities, the National Electoral Council (CNE), and the international community to create the necessary conditions for free, fair and transparent elections. This includes having a truly independent national electoral body, equal access to state resources for political campaigns, putting an end to arbitrary detentions and disqualifications of political candidates, gaining judicial independence and respect for the rule of law, having independent international observation, and updating the electoral registry so that younger voters and the millions of migrants and refugees that have fled the country are able to exercise their right to vote. 10 @DemocratasxVzla Photo: Element5 Digital on Unsplash | 2018 Women for Democracy in Venezuela (MDV) is an inclusive movement founded in October 2021, whose mission is to contribute to the construction of a free and democratic Venezuela. MDV members are female Venezuela politicians, diplomats, academics, activists, journalists, lawyers, human rights defenders and civil society leaders from inside and outside Venezuela. Together, we are working across party lines to achieve substantive progress on the issues that affect all Venezuelans’ future. Our common objectives are: To achieve these objectives, MDV members are working to make advances on key policy areas, including the establishment of free, fair and transparent elections, protection for Venezuelan refugees and migrants, respect for justice and the rule of law, and the protection of Venezuela’s environment. Keep up to date with MDV on Twitter at @DemocratasxVzla. About MDV 11 @DemocratasxVzla (i) Contributing to the reinstatement of democracy in Venezuela; (ii) Defending the needs of the Venezuelan people and civil society; (iii) Proposing viable and constructive solutions that address both the root causes of the crisis and the immediate needs of the Venezuelan population; (iv) Advocating for the meaningful participation of women in political processes and decision-making. Founded in October, 2021 Foto: Getty Images | 2019 July 2022 [1] Plataforma de Coordinación Inteligencia para Refugiados y Migrantes de Venezuela. 2022. “Cifras Clave”. https://www.r4v.info. [2] Encuesta Nacional de Condiciones de Vida (ENCOVI). 2021. “Condiciones de vida de los venezolanos: entre emergencia humanitaria y pandemia”. https://assets.website- files.com/5d14c6a5c4ad42a4e794d0f7/6153ad6fb9 2e4428cada4fb7_Presentacion%20ENCOVI%2020 21%20V1.pdf [3] ACNUDH. 2021. “Informe de la misión internacional independiente de investigación sobre la República Bolivariana de Venezuela”. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents /HRBodies/HRCouncil/FFMV/A.HRC.48.69_ES.pdf [4] Consejo de Derechos Humanos (Human Rights Council). 2021. “Recopilación sobre la República Bolivariana de Venezuela: Informe de la Oficina del Alto Comisionado de las Naciones Unidas para los Derechos Humanos" https://www.justiciayverdad.org/es/informe-de-la- oficina-del-alto-comisionado-de-las- naciones- unidas-para-los-derechos-humanos-a-hrc-wg-6-40- ven-2/ [5] Human Rights Watch. 2021. “World Report 2021. Country Chapter: Venezuela”. https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2021/country- chapters/venezuela# [6] Cartaya Febres, Vanessa, Feliciano Reyna Ganteaume y Geoff Ramsey. 2020. “Respuesta Humanitaria, Desafíos para la Sociedad Civil”. https://reliefweb.int/report/venezuela-bolivarian- republic/venezuela-emergencia-humanitaria- compleja-respuesta-humanitaria References [7] International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. 2019. “Timing and Sequencing of Transitional Elections: Case Studies”. International IDEA’s Policy Paper No. 18, 125.https://www.idea.int/sites/default/files/publicati ons/timing-and-sequencing-of-transitional- elections-case-studies.pdf [8] The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). 2021. “Democracy Index 2021”. https://www.eiu.com/n/campaigns/democracy- index-2021/?utm_source=eiu- website&utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=dem ocracy-index-2021 [9] World Justice Project (WJP). 2020. “Rule of Law Index”. https://worldjusticeproject.org/sites/default/files/do cuments/WJP-ROLI-2020-Online_0.pdf [10] Bloomfield, David, Fernández, Carlos y Alejandro Angulo Novoa, S.J. 2015. “Reconciliación: Perspectivas y aportes conceptuales para su comprensión”. Centro de Investigación y Educación Popular/Programa por la Paz”. http://biblioteca.clacso.edu.ar/Colombia/cinep/201 61027012002/20150801.Reconciliacion_Ppaz10.p df [11] Red de Conocimientos Electorales (ACE). n.d. “Integridad Electoral”. https://aceproject.org/ace-es/topics/ei/ei20 [12] Ibid. July 2022 12 @DemocratasxVzla [13] Misión de Observación Electoral de la Union Europea (MOE) (EU Election Observation Mission). 2021. “Venezuela: declaración del alto representante Josep Borrell, sobre las elecciones regionales y locales”. https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/venezuela/1077 47/venezuela-declaraci%C3%B3n-del-alto- representante-josep-borrell-sobre-las-elecciones- regionales-y_es [14] The Carter Center. 2021. “Elecciones Regionales y Locales, Venezuela 2021”. Informe Preliminar: Misión Electoral de Expertos del Centro Carterhttps://www.cartercenter.org/resources/pdfs/n ews/peace_publications/election_reports/venezuela -preliminary-report-120321-spanish.pdf [15] Misión de Observación Electoral de la Union Europea (MOE) (EU Election Observation Mission). 2021. “Venezuela: declaración del alto representante Josep Borrell, sobre las elecciones regionales y locales”. https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/venezuela/1077 47/venezuela-declaraci%C3%B3n-del-alto- representante-josep-borrell-sobre-las-elecciones- regionales-y_es [16] Venezuela Documenta. 2021. “Irregularidades Observadas”. https://venezueladocumenta.org/index.php/2021/11 /21/irregularidades-observadas/ [17] France 24. 2022. “Venezuela: 12 horas para reunir 4.2 millones de firmas por revocatorio contra Maduro”. https://www.france24.com/es/minuto-a- minuto/20220122-venezuela-12-horas-para-reunir- 4-2-millones-de-firmas-por-revocatorio-contra- maduro July 2022 @DemocratasxVzla [18] International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. 2012. “Electoral Management during Transition”. https://www.idea.int/sites/default/files/publications/el ectoral-management-during-transition.pdf [19] Como lo establece el artículo 294 de la Constitución de la República (1999) y 3 de la Ley Orgánica del Poder Electoral. [20] The Carter Center. 2021. “Elecciones Regionales y Locales, Venezuela 2021”. Informe Preliminar: Misión Electoral de Expertos del Centro Carter”. https://www.cartercenter.org/resources/pdfs/news/p eace_publications/election_reports/venezuela- preliminary-report-120321-spanish.pdf [21] Trak, Juan Manuel. 2021. “Participación Política de las Mujeres en las Elecciones Regionales y Municipales en Venezuela 2021”. Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD) https://nimd.org/wp- content/uploads/2021/12/ParticipacionMujeres2021 .pdf [22] Artículo 19 de la Ley Orgánica de Procesos Electorales -LOPRE [23] Trak, Juan Manuel. 2021. “Participación Política de las Mujeres en las Elecciones Regionales y Municipales en Venezuela 2021”. Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD) https://nimd.org/wp- content/uploads/2021/12/ParticipacionMujeres2021 .pdf [24] Ibídem. 13 [26] Misión de Observación Electoral de la Unión Europea (MOE). “Informe Final: Elecciones regionales y municipales 21 de noviembre de 2021”. https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resource s/eu_eom_ven_2021_fr_es.pdf [27] Centro de Justicia y Paz (CEPAZ). “Participación del Liderazgo Femenino en las Elecciones Regionales y Municipales 2021”. https://cepaz.org/noticias/participacion-del- liderazgo-femenino-en-las-elecciones-regionales-y- municipales-2021/ [28] Red de Conocimientos Electorales ACE. n.d.. “Género y Elecciones”. https://aceproject.org/ace- es/topics/ge/ge3/seleccion-de-candidatos-y- participacion-de-las [29] ONU Mujeres. 2014. “Con la Paridad Electoral, México avanza hacia la igualdad entre mujeres y hombres”. https://mexico.unwomen.org/es/noticias- y-eventos/articulos/2014/01/paridad-electoral [30] Reina, Elena. 2021. El País. “México elige al mayor número de gobernadoras de su historia”. https://elpais.com/mexico/elecciones- mexicanas/2021-06-07/mexico-elige-al-mayor- numero-de-gobernadoras-de-su-historia.html [31] Electoral Integrity Initiative. n.d. “Las Elecciones y la Consolidación de la Paz”. Informe de Políticas No. 4. https://www.kofiannanfoundation.org/app/uploads/2 017/08/Elections-and-Peacebuilding_ESPANOL.pdf [32] Article 32 of the LOPRE and 111 of the General Regulation of the LOPRE. July 2022 @DemocratasxVzla [33] Electoral Integrity Initiative. n.d. “Las Elecciones y la Consolidación de la Paz”. Informe de Políticas No. 4. https://www.kofiannanfoundation.org/app/uploads/2 017/08/Elections-and-Peacebuilding_ESPANOL.pdf [34] Plataforma de Coordinación Interagencial para Refugiados y Migrantes de Venezuela. 2022. “Cifras Clave”. https://www.r4v.info/. [35] International IDEA. 2020. “Sobre las condiciones del proceso electoral parlamentario 2020 en Venezuela” https://www.idea.int/sites/default/files/news/informe- ucab- idea/INFORME%20ELECCIONES%20PARLAMEN TARIAS%202020-RESUMEN.pdf [36] Misión de Observación Electoral de la Unión Europea (MOE). 2021. “Venezuela 2021: Informe Final. Elecciones regionales y municipales 21 de Noviembre de 2021” https://eeas.europa.eu/sites/default/files/eu_eom_v en_2021_fr_es.pdf/ [37] According to the LOPRE, the subordinate electoral bodies are the regional electoral boards, the metropolitan electoral boards, the municipal electoral boards, the parish electoral boards and the electoral committees (section 91). They "assume in the corresponding jurisdiction the execution and surveillance of the electoral processes" (section 92). [38] Consejo Nacional Electoral. “Excepción al Servicio Electoral Obligatorio”. http://www.cne.gob.ve/web/documentos/servicio_el ectoral/FLUJO_PRESENTACION_EXCEPCION_S ANCIONES.pdf 14 [39] Consejo Nacional Electoral. N.d. “Manual de Funcionamiento Genérico de la Mesa Electoral”. https://www.sumate.org/miembros_mesa_cne/Man ual_del_Funcionamiento_de%20_las_Mesas_Elect orales.pdf [40] The Carter Center. 2021. “Elecciones Regionales y Locales, Venezuela 2021: Informe Preliminar: Misión Electoral de Expertos del Centro Carter”. https://www.cartercenter.org/resources/pdfs/news/p eacepublications/election_reports/venezuela- preliminary-report-120321-spanish.pdf [41] Bueno Cipagauta, María Angelica. 2017. “Políticas Públicas de Reconciliación. Un reto posible en la Construcción y la Sostenibilidad de la Paz en Colombia”. Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Vol. 30 Núm. 90. https://doi.org/10.15446/anpol.v30n90.68301 [42] Electoral Integrity Initiative. n.d. “Las Elecciones y la Consolidación de la Paz”. Informe de Políticas No. 4. https://www.kofiannanfoundation.org/app/uploads/2 017/08/Elections-and-Peacebuilding_ESPANOL.pdf [43] Red de Conocimientos Electorales ACE. n.d. “Facing Electoral Realities: Too Much Assistance, Too Late.”https://aceproject.org/ace-en/focus/focus- on- effective-electoral-assistance/facing-electoral- realities July 2022 @DemocratasxVzla 15 Annexes July 2022 @DemocratasxVzla FIGURE #1 16