Ten days ago, the Opposition parties had no problem going to a vote despite all the well-known CNE irregularities.
Last week, Opposition technicians demonstrated that one of those irregularities - the finger-print scanners - could indeed be used to track who voted for whom.
The Opposition then asked CNE to suspend the use of the scanners.
Two days ago, CNE chief Jorge Rodriguez agreed.
The Opposition response? To withdraw from the elections!
Quien los entiende?
Whether you think going to elections is wise or not, the timing of the decision is just baffling. There's no imaginable reason to think conditions were safe enough to vote 10 days ago, but not today. If anything, conditions improved a notch over the last 48 hours. So, painful as it is to say it, I think JVR has it right for once: the opposition saw the writing on the wall, realized they can't mobilize their own supporters, noticed they were on the verge of a humiliating wipe-out, and cut their losses.
