Carter Center unable to verify Venezuela election results, blasts officials for lack of transparency

[muriel_volestrangler]

The Carter Center said it was unable to verify the results of Venezuela's presidential election, blaming authorities for a “complete lack of transparency” in declaring Nicolas Maduro the winner without providing any individual polling tallies.

The statement Tuesday night by the Atlanta-based group is perhaps the harshest rebuke yet of Venezuela's chaotic election process because it comes from one of just a handful of outside groups invited by the Maduro government to observe the vote.

“The electoral authority’s failure to announce disaggregated results by polling station constitutes a serious breach of electoral principles,” the Carter Center said. The group, which had a technical mission of 17 experts spread out in four cities across Venezuela, added that the election did not meet international standards and “cannot be considered democratic.”
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The electoral council has not released any results from the polling center level, which come from tally sheets that the more than 30,000 electronic voting machines print after polls close. It is not obligated to do so, but in previous elections it has posted the figures online within hours.

Biden and Lula “agreed on the need for immediate release of full, transparent, and detailed voting data at the polling station level by the Venezuelan electoral authorities,” it said.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/criticism-mounts-against-venezuelas-maduro-and-the-electoral-council-that-declared-him-a-victor/ar-BB1qTF9x