Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has proposed from Washington D.C. the need to renew the National Electoral Council as a prerequisite for new elections. She demands a CNE that complies with the Constitution, without political affiliates and with honorable figures who inspire trust. She also calls for cleaning up the electoral registry for millions of Venezuelans inside and outside the country, with continuous international observation.
Electoral technology: digital registration and remote observation 🖥️
A renewed CNE could implement biometric registration systems and decentralized databases to clean up the electoral roll. Continuous international observation would require secure real-time monitoring platforms, with end-to-end encryption to prevent manipulation. Updating data for Venezuelans abroad would demand web portals with identity verification through facial recognition, something technically viable but politically complex in the current context.
The new CNE, but still unused 🐱
Machado's request sounds as logical as asking a broken clock to show the correct time twice a day. In Venezuela, renewing the CNE is like renaming a stray cat: the same meow, different collar. And if she also asks for honorable figures, one would have to look on the list of endangered species. Meanwhile, millions wait to vote, but first we need to see if the new CNE doesn't end up being the same dog with a different leash.