Tibisay Lucena, former president of the National Electoral Council, the body responsible for governing elections in Venezuela, current Minister of University Education and one of the most important figures for the survival of Chavismo has died at the age of 63. Military sources confirm to THE OBJECTIVE the death, the causes of which are unknown at this time.

Lucena has been one of the most outstanding figures when it comes to achieving the survival of Chavismo for so many years. As president of the National Electoral Council, a position she held between 2006 and 2018, she facilitated the electoral victories of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro.

Delcy Rodríguez, known in Spain for her episode with former minister José Luís Ábalos at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport, confirmed her death on social media and sent her condolences to her family and friends after a ” battle without truce” against a disease.

Tibisay Lucena, essential for chavismo

The United States Department of State went so far as to point out that the institution over which it presided had incurred “general fraud” and irregularities “pre and post-election» . Furthermore, they pointed out that with his actions he had interfered in the government of the nation and in the “manipulation of voters”.

Lucena has been widely criticized for her closeness to the Venezuelan government and for her role in presidential and parliamentary elections, which have been repeatedly questioned by the opposition and the international community. Some of the criticisms include limited or no post-election audits, the invalidation of the signatures collected by the opposition for a referendum reminder against President Maduro in 2016 or the alleged manipulation of the electoral system in favor of the executive.

In 2018, she resigned as president of the CNE and was replaced by lawyer Indira Alfonzo, although she will remain rector of the organization until 2020.

Several states have maintained sanctions against Lucena for his role in Venezuelan electoral processes as well as for his membership in the government of Nicolás Maduro. To the criticisms already mentioned by the United States, we must add the ban on entering Colombia since January 2019 and the sanctions established against it by Washington, Canada, the European Union, Switzerland and Canada.