Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. National Identity Card with the Prefix "E"

Sources indicate that the prefix "E" on a national identity card means extranjero (foreigner) (lawyer 20 May 2017; Venezuela 19 May 2017). For further information on national identity cards, see Response to Information Request VEN104017 of March 2012.

Sources indicate that the national identity card can be obtained by a foreigner with a migratory status, or a visa, of transeúnte (temporary) or residente (permanent) (Venezuela 2006, Art. 8; lawyer 20 May 2017).

According to the website of the Administrative Service of Identification, Migration and Immigration (Servicio Administrativo de Identificación, Migración y Extranjería, SAIME), applicants need to go to a SAIME office in person, with the following documents: application form, their passport that is valid for at least 6 months and a photocopy that includes the applicant's information, photocopy of their visa, and a fee (Venezuela n.d.a). The same source adds that the validity of the national identity card will be the same as the validity of the temporary migrant visa (Venezuela n.d.a).

2. Polling Station Lists (Listado de Miembros de Mesa)

The Organic Law on Electoral Processes (Ley Orgánica de Procesos Electorales) provides the following:

[translation]

Article 111.The National Electoral Council, through the mechanism that it sets out, shall select citizens entered in the Electoral Registry to carry out electoral service as members of the council. This service is mandatory under the terms of this law.

To perform this service, the citizen selected must only know how to read and write. (Venezuela 2009)

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, an official at the Venezuelan Embassy in Ottawa stated that the selection process for members of polling station staff is [translation] "completely random," and that any Venezuelan over the age of 18 who is registered with the National Electoral Council (Consejo Nacional Electoral, CNE) can be selected (Venezuela 19 May 2017). According to a lawyer from a law firm based in Maracaibo, there is no application process to become a member of the polling station staff (lawyer 20 May 2017). The website of the CNE states that those who are selected by lottery to serve on Polling Stations, carry out the execution and supervision of electoral processes in the area where they are allowed to vote, for one year starting on the date they are selected (Venezuela n.d.b). The same source adds that the draw is pulled from the latest list of the Electoral Registry, in the first three months of each year (Venezuela n.d.b). The lawyer stated that electoral service in polling stations is obligatory, except for disabled persons or people over the age of 65 (lawyer 20 May 2017). Those who do not fulfil electoral service duties can be fined (lawyer 20 May 2017). The Organic Law on Electoral Processes further provides the following:

Article 27.The Electoral Registry is the database in which all citizens who may exercise the right to vote under the Republic’s constitution and laws are registered.

…

Registration in the Electoral Registry

Article 29.The following may be registered in the Electoral Registry:

1. Venezuelans over 18 years of age.
2. Citizens who will turn 18 years of age in the interval between the voter registration cut-off date and up to and including the date of the election, provided that registration takes place before the voter registration cut-off date.
3. Foreign nationals over 18 years of age who have resided in the country for more than 10 years.
   For the purposes of registration in the Electoral Registry, the only valid document required is the national identity card.
   The Electoral Registry will automatically incorporate the information from the civil registry. (Venezuela 2009)

Further information on the civil registry could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Lawyer, Maracaibo. 20 May 2017. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

Venezuela. 19 May 2017. Embassy of Venezuela in Ottawa. Correspondence from an official to the Research Directorate.

Venezuela. 2009. Ley Orgánica de Procesos Electorales. [Accessed 23 May 2017]

Venezuela. 2006 (ammended 2014). Decreto con Rango, Valor y Fuerza de Ley Orgánica de Identificación. [Accessed 19 May 2017]

Venezuela. N.d.a. Ministerio del Poder Popular para Relaciones Interiores, Justicia y Paz, Servicio Administrativo de Identificación, Migración y Extranjería (SAIME). "Cedulación." [Accessed 19 May 2017]

Venezuela. N.d.b. Consejo Nacional Electoral (CNE). "Servicio Electoral." [Accessed 13 May 2017]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Law firm in Caracas; Venezuela – Consejo Nacional Electoral, Servicio Administrativo de Identificación, Migración y Extranjería.

Internet sites, including: Venezuela – Consejo Nacional Electoral, Embassy in Ottawa, Embassy in Washington, DC; US – Department of State.