The Consejo Nacional Electoral ("National Electoral Council", or CNE) is the institution in charge of all electoral processes that take place in Venezuela.

Its five principal members are elected by a majority vote of the unicameral National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional de Venezuela) and all its rulings have to be agreed by a majority (three out of five) of these principal members.

At present the principal members are Francisco Carrasquero (president), Jorge Rodríguez, Oscar Battaglini and Sobella Mejias. The CNE has been on the center of the current political debate on Venezuela, as the opposition has tried several times to oust the Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez using a recall or referendum.

On August 15, 2004, after trying for over two years to oust the president, the CNE held a national recall for the presidency, which was won by the president. The OAS and the Carter Center have validated the fairness of the recall, but the Venezuelan opposition insists that fraud took place. See: 2004 Venezuelan presidential recall.

External link

• Consejo Nacional Electoral (http://www.cne.gov.ve/)