'No evidence' of Venezuela election hacking: Carter Center mission chief

“There is no evidence” that the electoral system Venezuela He was the target of a computer attack during the July 28 election, he told AFP. Jenny LincolnHead of the Monitoring Mission Carter CenterThis coincided with expectations of the opposition's victory.

The Carter Center was invited by National Electoral Council (CNE) To monitor disputed elections in which the president is participating Nicolas Maduro He was declared re-elected to a third six-year term.

The National Election Commission has not published detailed results and claims the delay is due to a hack, while Maduro condemns the operation. “Cyber-fascist coup.”

“The companies monitor and know when there is a denial of service (vests) and that didn’t happen that night,” Lincoln said in an interview from Atlanta on Wednesday. “The voting data is transmitted by telephone line and satellite phone, not by computer. They didn’t lose the data.”

Lincoln noted that the CNE president, Elvis Amoruso“He said he would publish the results table by table on the website and give a CD to political parties” when he announced the first bulletin.

“It is a promise that has never been fulfilled,” said the organization’s advisor for Latin America and the Caribbean.

“Even though the playing field was very uneven, the Venezuelan people went to vote,” he continued, referring to the elections. “The big irregularity on election day was the lack of transparency of the National Electoral Commission and the blatant failure to adhere to the rules of the game in terms of showing the true vote of the people.”

Lincoln explained that the Carter Center “analyzed the numbers” available along with other organizations and universities and “confirms” Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia As the winner with more than 60% of the votes.

The opposition published copies of more than 80% of the minutes on a website, which it claims proves the authenticity of these minutes. Victory of Gonzalez Urrutia -Representing leader Maria Corina Machado- with 67% of the vote. The National Electoral Council gave him 43% compared to 52% for Maduro.

Chavismo denies the authenticity of these documents and asserts that they are forged.

“It’s pure theater,” said Lincoln, who declined to comment on communications with the NEC or government authorities. The Carter Center assessed in a public statement that the election “did not meet standards and” International standards for electoral integrityIt cannot be considered a democracy.

The statement was published when the monitoring mission was already outside the country.

Read also Pope Francis calls for 'seek of truth' after Venezuela elections

Maduro, a leftist who has been in power since 2013, has called for Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) “certified” the election, and said it was willing to hand over 100% of the transcript if requested.

“The government has 11 or 12 days…a very long time to present the actual data of the records it received on election night,” Lincoln said.

The legal process is considered unacceptable by experts and the opposition, who also distrust the Supreme Court of Justice and the National Electoral Council because they consider them to be in favor of Chavismo. Amoroso says he has submitted the investigation report to the court.

The elections have been questioned by United States, European Union and several countries latin america.

Colombia, Brazil And MexicoThe group, which promotes a coexistence agreement between the two sides, proposed an “impartial verification of the results.”

Lincoln believes it is premature to comment on the Carter Center’s willingness to participate in the audit at this level. “I am incredulous, skeptical about what the international verification team could have done, and what the witnesses, who recorded the actual records of the night, did not do.”

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