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Viewing cable 05CARACAS169, UPDATE ON THE USAID-FUNDED VENEZUELAN ELECTORAL

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
05CARACAS169 2005-01-19 20:18 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Caracas
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS  CARACAS 000169 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL EAID KDEM PHUM VE
SUBJECT:  UPDATE ON THE USAID-FUNDED VENEZUELAN ELECTORAL 
OBSERVATION ORGANIZATION "OJO ELECTORAL" 
 
 
------- 
SUMMARY 
------- 
1.  The National Democratic Institute for International 
Affairs (NDI) has been working in Venezuela since September 
2003, to support the establishment of a domestic electoral 
observation organization that is widely perceived as 
credible and impartial by a majority of Venezuelans.  This 
is even more important now than when the effort first 
started given that the credibility of the Carter Center - 
and to a lesser extent the OAS - was damaged in the eyes of 
the Venezuelan opposition as a result of the events 
surrounding the August 15, 2004, presidential recall 
referendum.  Similarly, those few existing Venezuelan NGOs 
with the capacity to carry out electoral observation are 
mistrusted by supporters of the government. There is the 
clear need for a trusted and capable domestic organization 
to fill this void.  The organization, "Ojo Electoral" 
(Electoral Eye), is in the process of positioning itself to 
become that organization - not just for upcoming electoral 
events, but as a permanent fixture of the Venezuelan 
electoral landscape.  End Summary. 
---------------------- 
OJO ELECTORAL OVERVIEW 
---------------------- 
2. In September, 2003, USAID awarded NDI $770,000 to work 
with civil society to help ensure the transparency and 
integrity of electoral processes through domestic 
observation.  This project is being implemented through 
cooperation with a recently-constituted civil society 
organization called "Ojo Electoral" which is a consortium of 
individuals and groups affiliated with both the government 
and the opposition.  The long term goal of this project is 
to establish a domestic electoral observation organization 
which is widely perceived as being both credible and 
politically neutral by a majority of Venezuelans. 
3. The board of Ojo Electoral is composed of five 
individuals:  Carlos Genatios - former Chavez government 
minister, and a Chavez supporter; Eleazar Dias Rangel - the 
director of the daily Ultimas Noticias which is perceived as 
left-leaning and pro-Chavez; Jose Virtuoso - a Jesuit who is 
perceived as politically nonaligned; Ignacio Avalos - 
columnist for the daily El Nacional - opposition light; and 
Elias Pino Iturrieta - also a columnist for El Nacional, and 
a strong opposition supporter. 
4. The bulk of the observers come from the Catholic NGO Fe y 
Alegria (Faith and Joy) which is widely perceived as 
supportive of the government.  Almost all the observers are 
affiliated with the network of Fe y Alegria schools 
throughout the country, making them well-positioned 
geographically to serve as observers where needed. 
5. Progress on this project has been much slower than 
anticipated due to the ongoing attacks of President Chavez 
on organizations that have received USG support - in 
addition to regular attacks on the USG itself.  This 
resulted in the initial reluctance of individuals and 
organizations to be affiliated with this project - and which 
also resulted in the Ojo board's decision to not accept USG 
funding, even through NDI, to cover the purchase of 
equipment and office set-up expenses out of concern that 
this could potentially compromise the perceived neutrality 
of the observation effort. (Note: Ojo is, however, willing 
to accept technical assistance from NDI such as consultation 
and training, which has comprised the bulk of NDI's 
assistance to Ojo Electoral.) Prior to the August 15 
referendum and the October 31 regional elections, NDI worked 
with numerous embassies in an attempt to secure non-USG 
funding for the project, with no success beyond statements 
of moral support.  Several Veneuelan foundations, however, 
were more accommodatng and provided approximately $100,000 
for offic expenses and the purchase / rental of equipment 
such as computers and cell phones.  Post-referendum NDI 
reported that local donors are much less enhusiastic about 
providing financial supprt to Ojo. 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
Ojo Electoral Observation of the Referendum and Regional 
Elections 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
6. On the evening of August 13, and after a long process of 
negotiation, the National Electoral Council (CNE), 
accredited only 195 of the 295 observers that Ojo Electoral 
needed to carry out their planned observation effort - and 
which proved statistically impossible to reprogram so as to 
ensure the validity of the observation.  In response, Ojo 
decided to use the August 15 referendum as a training 
exercise - only issuing a press release commenting on the 
process rather than the results.  The primary outcome of 
this observation exercise, and the ensuing controversy 
surrounding the results of the referendum, was that the 
members of Ojo saw first-hand the critical need for 
Venezuela to have a credible and politically-neutral 
electoral observation organization.  The board of Ojo 
committed to developing their organization as a permanent 
electoral fixture. 
 
 
7. The CNE was more accommodating for the October 31 
regional elections, accrediting over 400 Ojo volunteers with 
sufficient time for Ojo (in collaboration with NDI) to field 
teams that would produce statistically valid results.  (As 
was the case for the referendum, Ojo was the only domestic 
observation group to receive credentials from the CNE. Seven 
states were covered (Zulia, Carabobo, Lara, Merida, Nueva 
Esparta, Tachira, and Yaracuy) which included the Ojo 
observers participating in the audits of the results of 
these states.  Members of the Ojo board also gave a joint 
press conference with members of the CNE.  This exercise, in 
addition to once more bolstering the confidence of Ojo 
Electoral, again demonstrated the need for Ojo to mobilize 
additional financial resources in order to facilitate and 
professionalize their efforts. 
----------------- 
Moving Forward 
----------------- 
8. Two NDI electoral consultants spent some days in December 
with the board of Ojo to work on the strategy for the coming 
year.  A significant development from past visits is that 
both felt that they are now perceived as trusted members of 
the team, rather than as outsiders; that the Ojo board 
strongly appreciates that their support is critical for 
Ojo's future and institutional development. 
9. The Ojo board is now also prepared - with the assistance 
of NDI - to make a serious effort to engage other 
governments, in addition to the USG, to mobilize additional 
resources.  In December, Ojo representatives called on 
representatives of the EU, Canada, the Netherlands (very 
receptive) and Norway.  Ojo is planning additional calls on 
the Austrians, the British, the Japanese, the Finns, UNDP, 
and Spain.  (Note:  This is something that NDI and Ojo had 
been working on prior to the referendum, but with recent 
transitions of embassy staffs, and the onward movement of 
funding cycles, in some cases they are starting from 
scratch.) At this juncture, even symbolic donations would be 
useful both for providing political cover as well as priming 
the pump for other donations. 
10. Current Work Plan: 
  -    Observe the parliamentary recall elections scheduled 
     for February. 
-    Carry out an audit of the Registro Electoral Permanente 
(REP), possibly starting in April.  This will be preceded in 
February by a visit from Pavel Centeno, the director of 
FLACSO, a Latin American academic / political research 
institution located in Guatemala.  Centano will be working 
with Ojo to walk them through a methodology for auditing an 
electoral registry.  Depending on resource availability, the 
audit may be completed as early as June.  The mechanisms for 
release of the audit results will depend on the results 
themselves. (Note: Ojo fully appreciates that an audit of 
the REP could put them in conflict with the CNE - which, on 
the other hand, would offset any perception that they are 
becoming too close to the CNE.) 
  -    An April workshop in Caracas with Latin American 
     political specialists - including the participation of Ojo 
     observers from around the country.  Topics will include: 
     electoral observation in general, issues related to recent 
     Venezuelan electoral events, electronic voting, experiences 
     with dialogue in highly polarized environments, and 
     experiences of organizations that have come under attack by 
     their governments.  In addition to the exchange of technical 
     information, this event is also intended to motivate / 
     encourage members of Ojo, as well as serve as a forum for 
     publicizing the presence and work of Ojo.  The embassies of 
     Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Colombia and 
     Chile have all agreed to pay the airfares for individuals 
     from their respective countries (participants to be chosen 
     by the Ojo board).  In addition, NDI will finance the 
     participation of specialists from Guatemala, Nicaragua, Peru 
     and a still-to-be-identified country (participants to be 
     chosen by NDI). 
  -    Observe the municipal elections scheduled for July. 
  -    Observe the legislative elections scheduled for later 
     in the year. 
 
11. The cooperative agreement with NDI terminates on June 
30, 2005.  It is likely that the cooperative agreement will 
be extended at least through the end of the year. 
 
MCFARLAND 
 
 
NNNN 
      2005CARACA00169 - UNCLASSIFIED