The "excesses" of the first day of the parliamentary electoral campaign will not be punished by the National Electoral Council (CNE).

The inappropriate "coverage" by the state-run TV channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV) of the events carried out by the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), the presence of children in an advertisement of political Primero Justicia (Justice First) party, the use of national symbols in an ad made by political Un Nuevo Tiempo (A New Era, UNT) party, the use of more column inches of ads by the ruling party and the "alteration" of photos by the pro-government newspaper VEA that expose opposition candidates to public ridicule will only merit a warning by the CNE.

Although the regulations on election campaign, based on the Organic Law on Elections and Political Participation (Lospp) and the Organic Law on Electoral Processes have not been modified in the last four years, Tibisay Lucena, the president of the CNE, referred to the conciliatory spirit of the electoral body to explain why the directors did not enforce the regulations governing the campaign activities of 2,719 candidates and more than 25 political parties.

The directors of the National Electoral Council decided to forgive fines up to USD 105,000 to both the opposition political parties and the pro-government media Vea and TV station Channel 8.
emartinez@eluniversal.com

Translated by Gerardo Cárdenas