It is the institution that has the responsibility of overseeing and guaranteeing the transparency of all elections and referendums in Venezuela at the local, regional, and national levels.
[citation needed] As of March 2016[update], four of the CNE rectors were the same as those of 2010, except that Vicente Díaz had been replaced by Luis Emilio Rondón González [es].
"widespread pre- and post-election fraud, including electoral irregularities, government interference, and manipulation of voters" and "opposition political parties [have] operated in a restrictive atmosphere characterized by intimidation, the threat of prosecution or administrative sanction on questionable charges, and restricted media access".
"widespread pre- and post-election fraud, including electoral irregularities, government interference, and voter manipulation," and "opposition political parties operate in a restrictive atmosphere characterized by intimidation, threats of prosecution or administrative sanctions on questionable charges, and restricted media access."
[18] On June 12, 2020, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice appointed CNE rectors after the controversial ruling of legislative omission by the opposition-majority Parliament, which, according to the Constitution of Venezuela, is responsible for selecting the electoral body directors.
[19] The TSJ's decision has been criticized by the opposition and international observers, as it violates the separation of powers and undermines democracy in the country.
[19] Additionally, it adds to a series of actions taken by Maduro's government seen as attempts to consolidate its control over the Venezuelan state apparatus and suppress the opposition.
[22] On June 11, 2020, the IV legislature of the National Assembly of Venezuela did not recognize the TSJ's decision and decided to continue the process of nominating candidates for CNE rectors, which was halted during the months of the coronavirus pandemic.
[23] Despite the lack of precedent or legal basis in the Venezuelan Constitution for TSJ intervention, on June 13, 2020, it appointed the new electoral directors based on the ruling declaring the legislative omission.
[24][25] Smartmatic, the company responsible for providing the electronic voting system in Venezuela, publicly denounced "data manipulation" during the elections for the Constituent Assembly.
This denunciation was made at a press conference in London by the company's CEO, Antonio Mugica, who pointed out a discrepancy of at least one million votes between the official figures and those recorded by their system in August 2017.
The National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela, in turn, rejected these accusations, defending the official participation figure of 41.53%, equivalent to 8 million voters.
ExClé C.A was sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of State on December 18, 2020, after the 2020 Venezuelan parliamentary election.
These elections, called by the Nicolás Maduro government and widely boycotted by the opposition, raised concerns and controversy over their legitimacy.