Venezuela election organization is designed to confuse voters, opposition says

By Vivian Sequera

CARACAS (Reuters) - Organizational decisions by Venezuela's electoral authorities – from polling station staffing to the lay-out of the ballot - have been made with the intention of confusing voters and creating obstacles to a free presidential election on July 28, say opposition figures and analysts.

President Nicolas Maduro is seeking a third term, but opinion polls show him at a 20-point disadvantage to opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, a former ambassador.

Maduro, whose 2018 re-election is considered fraudulent by the United States and other countries, has said the Venezuelan electoral system is the world's most transparent and has accused the opposition of planning to cry fraud and sow "chaos and violence."

But the opposition and voter advocacy groups say logistical decisions by the National Electoral Council (CNE) could stymie free access to the vote for the country's 21.3 million registered voters.

"The intention is very clear and should be roundly rejected: they want to manipulate and twist the desire for change by the vast majority," Andres Caleca, a former CNE official and opposition primary candidate, said last month on X.

Of the 15,797 polling stations nationwide, at least 8,000 will have just one ballot box, up from 6,800 locations in the 2018 presidential contest, according to official figures.

With more votes being cast at each box, such locations are considered more difficult to monitor for possible fraud, according to regional NGO Electoral Transparency.

The use of single boxes can also slow down the voting process and cause longer lines, the opposition has said.

About 3.9 million voters are set to cast ballots at single ballot box locations.

On social media, some voters have said their polling place has been changed to one in another state, in some cases far from their home.

"Electoral engineering is designed like this ... gathering voters in one polling place with one ballot box," said John Magdaleno, head of the Venezuela-based Polity consulting firm. "All autocracies try to alter the terms under which a quote-unquote electoral competition occurs, introducing more uncertainty."

"More uncertainty serves the authoritarian regime," he added.

The Ministry of Information and the CNE did not respond to requests for comment on issues raised in this article. Maduro has repeatedly denied charges that he is authoritarian.

The design of the ballot - which features a photo of each candidate above the logo of the party they are running for - also came under fire when it was released in April.

Photos of Maduro, who appears for 13 parties, occupy the entire first line and part of the second, while the other 10 candidates are scattered around the ballot. Gonzalez is set to appear as the candidate for three parties.

The opposition has also criticized a rule change by the CNE that only allows election witnesses to carry out their duties at the same polling station where they vote, and says the distribution of credentials for witnesses and polling station staff has been slow.

In May, Venezuela revoked an invitation to the European Union to send election observers, citing continued sanctions on the government that it called "coercive."

The EU said it regretted the decision. It has called for free and fair elections, but has not commented specifically on individual decisions by the CNE.

A European diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he was aware of limitations in the electoral process, but would await the outcome of the election.

Others, including the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), a UN panel, and the Carter Center, are still set to observe.

Meanwhile, Venezuela's 7.7 million-strong diaspora - many of whom have fled the economic turmoil of the Maduro years and may not feel well-disposed to him - is facing its own voting hurdles.

Of the 4 million migrants eligible to vote, just 69,200 are registered, according to official figures.

The government has said the lack of diplomatic relations with countries like the U.S. and Canada means embassies there are closed.

In Colombia and Peru, each home to millions of Venezuelans, the opposition says many people were asked for unnecessary documents to register or consulates were closed.

Gonzalez's registration as a candidate was itself fraught - he was added to the ballot at the last minute after primary winner Maria Corina Machado was barred from public office and her original successor was unable to register.

(Reporting by Vivian Sequera; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)