Venez: Electoral Council Pulls Ads For and Against Constitutional Reform

Caracas, November 19, 2007 (venezuelanalysis.com) - The Venezuelan
National Electoral Council (CNE), has suspended a number of campaign
advertisements, both for and against the proposed constitutional reform
of the Venezuelan President and the National Assembly, in the lead up
to the reform referendum on December 2, saying that they violate
electoral regulations.

CNE President Tibisay Lucena announced that a television advertisement
against the reform, which depicts a government functionary walking into
a shop and telling the proprietor that his shop is now the property the
state, was withdrawn after complaints that the ad lies and generates
fear about the reform. A television ad in sup****t of the reform, which
used backing music from opposition TV channel Globovision, was
suspended last week after Globovision complained. A newspaper ad in
sup****t of the reforms was also suspended over the weekend for using an
image of Simon Bolivar, the Venezuelan independence fighter who
liberated much of Latin America from Spanish colonialism, whose image
is prohibited in all Venezuelan election campaigns.

However, CNE board member Vicente Diaz, who has openly identified with
the opposition, said that in his view the TV ad against the reforms
does not violate electoral regulations. However, he was outvoted by the
other four CNE board members. Diaz has now called on Venezuelans to
email complaints about the decision to the CNE.

Lucena also stressed that the media should comply immediately with the
resolutions of the electoral body about advertising material produced
for and against the reforms.

"This weekend we suspended an advertisement that violates the norms of
publicity and election advertising, however they did not suspend their
transmissions until late into the night. Once the CNE has decided in
favor of suspension the ads should be taken off air immediately."

Lucena confirmed that the CNE referendum regulations had been
distributed to all political organizations and the media, "that is to
say, political organizations and the media know what is permitted and
what is prohibited. If they fail to recognize the law, we will not
exempt them of their offence and they should accept the consequences."

In order to campaign in the referendum, all political parties and
organizations were required to register with the CNE and group
themselves into either a ~Yes' bloc in favor of the reforms or a ~No'
bloc against the reforms. For this reason, Lucena also announced an
investigation into the illegal advertising campaign against the reforms
by the state government of Zulia, headed by ex-presidential candidate
Manuel Rosales because, she explained, the state government of Zulia is
not registered as a participant of either of the blocs.

Opposition political and business groups have also participated in
illegal anonymous advertising campaigns, circulating false information
about the reforms, including claims that the government would take
people's children away from them. Lucena stressed that all anonymous
advertising campaigns were illegal and made particular reference to an
anonymous advertising campaign against the reforms funded by the state
of Carabobo Chamber of Industry, which was published in numerous
national newspapers last week.

The Carabobo Chamber of Industry ad, which looks remarkably similar to
the format used by the CNE to disseminate the content of the reforms,
is presented simply as information about the reforms, but contains a
long diatribe against the reforms including the false claims that
people's houses, personal property and children will be taken away from
them.

Lucena announced that the CNE would *****s further complaints by both
sides, including a complaint about the use of images by the No bloc, of
Simon Bolivar.

Addressing a press conference on Monday, Venezuelan Vice president
Jorge Rodriguez accused the opposition of running a campaign of
distortion and misinformation about the reforms, which he says is aimed
at a refusal to recognize the results of the referendum.

"The strategy of the opposition is not democratic. It is to block out
the truth to replace it with lies; to carry out a campaign of
fabrication, sup****ted by the media, with advertising strategies, ruled
from the North, in order to foment abstention and finally to say that
the cru****ng results in favor of the reforms are false," he said.

The distribution of fake examples of the constitutional reform with
falsified articles by some opposition sectors is aimed at generating
fear in the population, Rodriguez said.

A key strategy of the opposition, Rodriguez argued, is to instigate a
"war of opinion polls" to create a false public opinion that supposedly
shows that a majority of Venezuelans are opposed to the reforms. In
particular he accused Globovision of manipulating a poll by the
Venezuelan Institute of Data Analysis (IVAD) to show that the majority
of Venezuelan's reject the constitutional reforms.

On Friday, December 16, Globovision used the incomplete results of a
poll, (based on the results of only 600 of a total 1,200 people polled)
by IVAD, to argue that sup****t for the reforms was declining and that
they would be defeated in referendum. However the full results of the
poll carried out over October 15-28 indicate that the reforms will be
approved by 60.2%, similar to Chavez's electoral victory in December
2006 where he won 61.8% of the vote. The same poll shows Chavez's
overall approval rating at 70%. Finally, Rodriguez called on the CNE to
"make sure that everyone complies with the regulations for election
campaigns and to guarantee balanced information about the referendum
process." 

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