THE END OF DEMOCRACY?
Wednesday 17, September

A lot is going on with the electoral system these days. The electoral council, CNE, seems on the verge to basically make a legal coup that would postpone any recall election until the middle of next year at best, based on arguments that are a violation of the 1999 constitution. It seems that some major decisions are to be handed today. We'll see. I still hope that some common sense will prevail. It is OK to make it difficult for a recall election to take place but it is not OK to make it nearly impossible. The objective there is of course to hold an eventual recall election AFTER August 19 2004, making the current vice president serve the end of the term. That of course would ensure chavista rule until 2006.

But that is not the worse problem. If the current CNE accepts the "orders from above" then it will likely trick the electoral system to favor chavista candidates in local elections (2004), National Assembly elections (2005) and the presidential one in 2006. The "legal" end of democracy in Venezuela seems at hand.

I am on the road. I will write a summary ASAP.