Home > 1.2 Equal suffrage > VENEZUELA - ON THE LEGAL ISSUES RAISED BY DECREE No. 2878 OF 23 MAY 2017 OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC ON CALLING ELECTIONS TO A NATIONAL CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY
 
 
 
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Paragraph 21
 

General Comment No. 25: Article 25 (Participation in Public Affairs and the Right to Vote) The Right to Participate in Public Affairs, Voting Rights and the Right of Equal Access to Public Service, in paragraph 6, establishes that “citizens participate directly in the conduct of public affairs when they exercise power as members of legislative bodies or by holding executive office. This right of direct participation is supported by paragraph (b). Citizens also participate directly in the conduct of public affairs when they choose or change their constitution or decide public issues through a referendum or other electoral process conducted in accordance with paragraph (b).” Later on, in paragraph 21, the General Comment explains that “[t]he principle of one person, one vote, must apply, and within the framework of each State’s electoral system, the vote of one elector should be equal to the vote of another. The drawing of electoral boundaries and the method of allocating votes should not distort the distribution of voters or discriminate against any group and should not exclude or restrict unreasonably the right of citizens to choose their representatives freely.”