National Electoral Council (CNE) President Jorge Rodríguez reacted to a final report from the European Union observation mission of the elections for parliament last December and recalled that when the preliminary report was submitted, he promised to consider the recommendations and conclusions.

"In the preliminary report it was perfectly clear that the observation missions of the European Union (EU) and the Organization of American States (OAS) noted that the results provided by CNE on the parliament polls of December 4th, 2005 were absolutely transparent and trustworthy, and that the election process went under the global standards of democracy," Rodríguez asserted.

Following the audit of November 23rd, 2005, "the experts of the UE observation mission viewed as remote the possibility of jeopardizing vote secrecy."

The official explained that every time there is an election, an updated voting register is delivered to political parties and candidates. He denied that CNE had refused to make an audit, but "no serious proposals" have been received.

Rodríguez thinks that in order to find if there is confidence in CNE, "serious, accountable surveys" need to be conducted.