More than 15 days have passed since the presidential elections on July 28th. For her (her identity is protected for security reasons) the memory is still fresh, as are all the emotions that were experienced before, during and after the elections. This woman was one of the polling station witnesses at a school in San Félix, a popular area of Bolívar State in the south of the country.
Pableysa Ostos / Correspondent lapatilla.com
First she was a witness assigned by the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), but on election day a principal member of the roundtable was missing and she had to assume that role.
She describes that no part of the process was easy, that in most cases the days of defense of the vote began the second week of July, that is, 14 days before the electoral process. How? With training workshops. She attended almost all of them, since they were given according to the function of each person. For example, for the witnesses there was a specific workshop; another for the captains of each center, and so on.
“Any information was necessary, any handling of instruments or whatever was going to be needed: help, a substitute, being cautious. And, obviously, all the volunteers were participating, militants of the different parties of the Democratic Unity Platform (MUD). As the days went by, the pressure and responsibility increased as well,” described the young woman.
In these workshops they were taught how to defend themselves, and what they could do in certain circumstances. “In my case, I was very attentive to everything, you know? I was attentive to reading everything from the table member manual to the Law of Electoral Processes. A table witness has to know the situation, how it can be solved, how we can measure, how we can reach a point of balance between both parties, because we were witnesses nominated by the parties and, obviously, we had to be aware of any irregularity, anything that was out of the norm.”
She admits that she mentally prepared herself for what that day would be like. She knew it would be tense, but she began to feel very tense three days before the electoral process.
Overcoming difficulties
She explained that on the day of the installation of the tables (polling stations) from her perspective everything was “relatively normal,” but she did notice, for example, that the electoral material had to be in two envelopes: one for the Plan República and another for the National Board. “It was not like that, there was only one envelope and it was for the National Board. That surprised me a lot, that the Plan República did not have a copy of the voting record and the envelope with its documents that is used for any observation.”
Another of the irregularities that the young woman noticed was that on the day of the installation, the president of the table was not the same person that appeared as designated on the National Electoral Council (CNE) page, and that one was not chosen or drawn by the first voters, members or witnesses. “He was hand picked and I also noticed that in my voting center there were the four presidents and all were from the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (Psuv, the ruling government party). It was also a mystery for them to show their credentials.”
Obstacles to get the voting records
She remembers that on Sunday, July 28th, people were very excited. “At about 2:00 p.m. the operators started talking or commenting (about the voting records, the printouts), because that was the idea: to talk about the voting records of the vote count and obviously the operator was asked the question and he said: ‘Well, they didn’t tell us anything about that and we don’t have an order to deliver that voting record printout of the vote count. Just print it (once) and put it in the envelope and that’s it,’ and I said: ‘Okay, I marked the barrier and everything I had to mark, and I explained it to the boy.”
“You are an operator and you must be aware that if there is an order, that is not the type of order that can be received (obeyed), because before they gave you the order not to deliver, there is a main order, and what is that order? It is article 337 of the Regulations of the Organic Law of Electoral Processes (Lopre) that in its most recent change stipulates that any other copy of the minutes of the scrutiny generated by the voting machine, must be distributed to the witnesses, the main witnesses and those nominated by the nominal parties of said election. This is a right that is attributed to the witness, that is the reason they are witnesses for, obviously, they refused,” she added.
After that confrontation, contradictions between the operators and the ‘Plan República’ (military overseers) came into play. “The Plan República maintained that it was an order. Thank God, my phone battery lasted to the end, because I showed article 337, the electoral polling station manual, article 300 and 339. In other words, we cannot be blind to reality.”
“The attitude of the center coordinator was always defensive. On the part of the Plan República, for example, the one who I believe was the boss or the commander, the one who was in charge of everything there, was very kind, a person who knew how to listen, look. I thought it was spectacular. We already know the decisions they made then and those were good decisions. That man was very receptive, the truth is, I applaud that official because he really did respect the will of the people,” added the table witness.
The voters were key
The young woman commented that after 6:00 in the afternoon, they began to close the tables and half an hour later the voters began to arrive. “And people were furious, because they didn’t give an answer about citizen verification, which is counting piece of paper by piece of paper (ballot by ballot). Then, added to that, they didn’t want to give us the voting record printouts either and people were knocking down the fence of the school. And then, it was precisely when I spoke to them about that and I told them that there are some citizens out there, they are people who deserve that their vote be respected and that it (the vote) be the one that manifests the will of a citizenry.”
“So, we are not going to play with words here, with a people that I promised out there to come out with a scrutiny record, because it is practically my right as a witness and then as a member, I am also defending a right and I can intercede, because at the table I have a voice and authority too. It is not only the president who has it, there the decisions are made together. Obviously they made a call, I don’t know who they called, and by decision of everyone and because they knew that there was a strong crowd out there, the delivery of minutes (records) was decided,” added the young woman.
For the witness, that was a big step. “It was a glorious step. I felt proud, because it is about making the people see, it is about trying to communicate, because obviously I did not only speak through a law, but also for a people, for citizen power and, hey, that is what is important, you know? So, that work that was done with a fellow, it was done well. Even though it was my first experience, the truth is that it was spectacular, because the numbers spoke for themselves and you know what I mean, well. The numbers speak for themselves and the truth is that I remember that emotion and I still live it with passion.”
She recalls that the presidents of the table were mostly pro-government, as was the coordinator of the voting center, “but that did not stop us from anything, because the truth is what will always come to light. That will always be the case. The table where I was had around 800 voters and 70 percent of the (registered voters in the) table participated.”
Crucial hours
On that Sunday, July 28th, the young woman felt the enthusiasm of the people to exercise their right to vote. She admits that the voters were attentive to them. “At the time of closing, people were attentive, I had many people, many friends, many neighbors, who were outside and told me: ‘let us know anything. ’ WhatsApp had collapsed.”
“The receptivity was very strong both from my contacts, as well as from outsiders, and it was not only in our parish (Dalla Costa), but in many others. It was impressive to see how volunteers, from the private sector, donated breakfast, lunch and dinner, helped and not only with food, but also with the transport of voters. I have acquaintances who traveled to Maturín and took with them five voters, because they were arbitrarily moved there from their voting center in San Félix. The unity of the country was seen that day, there was emotion that day,” she added.
The polling station witness says that the food she received from the volunteers was prepared with love. “The food that the National Electoral Council offered us was sad: a dry, yellow flour arepa, stiff, with sardines, ‘pelada’ (plain, insipid). How sad, and this is what this government reflects: misery and apathy. Very sad, really.”
After the elections in the state of Bolívar, 51 people were arrested. The young woman admits that people close to her, who were also polling station members, have received threats. “I am afraid of the persecution that has been taking place. Like any human being, we are all afraid. I am afraid that the government will cut short my future, cut short my life, cut short my youth.”