http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wFFL2wjQQ1U/TPOBb2X7SLI/AAAAAAAAABA/uei9miwj0LM/s320/voto-basura_web.jpg [source](http://dibujosa.com/index.php?codigo=11705)

Overview of the elections and candidates.

Those who oppose this election, mostly do so under the argument that Nicolás Maduro will make fraud and "win" the elections. I would not rush so much. All the other candidates, supposedly of "opposition", have a past that raises suspicions. Henri Falcón, for example, is a socialist who comes from the United Socialist Party of Venezuela. Javier Bertucci is involved in corruption cases and yet allowed him to be a candidate. Luis Alejandro Ratti, who declined to support Henri Falcón, was another socialist candidate who in 2012 campaigned for Chavez. These 3 people decided to run for that election even though the rest of the parties, the international community and the people themselves, decided not to participate because they do not have minimum guarantees. What are they planning? I'm not sure about anything, I just know that neither the election itself nor its candidates inspire confidence, but, given the crisis of legitimacy that Venezuela's socialist government is going through, Maduro as "winner" is not the only possible scenario, or at least, that's the way I see it.

Who counts the votes?

http://elvenezolanonews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Socorro-Hernandez-300x225.jpg [Socorro Hernandez, rector of the CNE.](https://supremainjusticia.org/2016/12/14/por-cuarta-vez-en-13-anos-el-tsj-designa-a-rectores-del-cne/)

I wrote about the dubious past of the candidates who supposedly oppose Maduro, but they are not the only ones. Even the electoral authorities have a past or connections that relate them to the government.

- Tania D 'Amelio: was deputy of the MVR (Fifth Republic Movement, which was the first party of Hugo Chávez) from 2000 to 2005. Deputy for the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) since 2005 to few days before being appointed as rector of the National Electoral Council. - Socorro Hernandez: was a member of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela until shortly before his appointment as rector of the CNE. She worked for Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA, state company), was president of CANTV (another state company) and Minister of Popular Power for Telecommunications. It is implicated in Odebrecht corruption cases and there is not a single investigation against it. - Tibisay Lucena: works hard in every electoral process to sabotage the opposition. It has relatives to whom the government has approved several contracts. This latest information is not confirmed. - Sandra Oblitas: one of the directors in charge of obstructing the process of requesting a recall referendum against Nicolás Maduro. Also known for threatening legal actions against opposition deputies before the Supreme Court of Justice, also controlled by the government. - Luis Emilio Rondón: Son of a leader of the "opposition" party Un Nuevo Tiempo. This party has always been lent to government strategies. In addition, he recognized the National Constituent Assembly.

So, an electoral process organized by people linked to the government, with candidates also linked to the government, will hardly result in anything different from the interests of the government. The results that will be announced, will be results that those in power want it to be.

The Carter Center and the "Most Transparent Elections in the World."

I think it is necessary to deny this. The argument of the leftists worldwide, when someone questions the elections in Venezuela, is that the Carter Center said that Venezuela has the most transparent electoral system in the world, but they seem to ignore the reports that the Carter Center itself issued in elections more recent, such as the report on the 2013 elections or the communique issued after the unconstitutional election of the National Constituent Assembly:

>We condemn the election to a National Constituent Assembly on Sunday. Election day was held in complete absence of electoral integrity, demonstrating serious problems of both legitimacy and legality and procedure. Likewise, the measures adopted by the government to prevent freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and the right to peaceful demonstrations and meetings in the context of the electoral process contravene the democratic values of plurality and the democratic and participatory clauses enshrined in the Constitution. So, dear socialist friends, that argument lost validity. Stop repeating it. #### Sources |[Who Are The ‘Candidates’ Running for the May 20 ‘Elections’? Caracas Chronicles](https://www.caracaschronicles.com/2018/05/07/who-are-the-candidates-running-for-the-may-20-elections/)| |---------------------------------| |[Javier Bertucci and the Panama Papers - Armando.info](https://armando.info/Reportajes/Resume/206)| | [May 20 ‘Election’: No Surprises, Lots of Questions - Caracas Chronicles](https://www.caracaschronicles.com/2018/05/21/may-20-election-no-surprises-lots-of-questions/) |[ President Maduro’s Likely Re-election in Breadline Venezuela - International Crisis Group](https://www.crisisgroup.org/latin-america-caribbean/andes/venezuela/president-maduros-likely-re-election-breadline-venezuela) |[Tania D' Amelio - Poderopedia](http://www.poderopedia.org/ve/personas/Tania_DAmelio)| |[Socorro Hernandez - Poderopedia](http://www.poderopedia.org/ve/personas/Socorro_Hernandez)| |[Attorney General accuses Socorro Hernandez for contracts with Odebrecht](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IYjI94O1ME) |[Luis Emilio Rondón Gonzalez - Poderopedia](http://www.poderopedia.org/ve/personas/Luis_Emilio_Rondon_Gonzalez)| |[Venezuela Electoral Officials Suspend Presidential Recall Bid ](https://www.wsj.com/articles/venezuela-electoral-officials-suspend-presidential-recall-referendum-process-1477010629) |[Venezuela Elections 2015 – No Room for Credible Observation](http://blog.crisisgroup.org/latin-america/venezuela/2015/10/13/venezuela-elections-2015-no-room-for-credible-observation/)| |[Venezuela’s Latest Election Fraud (2015)](https://www.wsj.com/articles/venezuelas-latest-election-fraud-1508106069) |[Concern about Recent Events in Venezuela (Election of National Constituent Assembly) - Carter Center](https://www.cartercenter.org/news/pr/venezuela-080117.html)