Tibisay Lucena

Tibisay Lucena Ramírez (26 April 1959 – 12 April 2023) was a Venezuelan politician, president of the National Electoral Council (CNE) between 2006 and 2020, one of the five branches of government of Venezuela. Since 2017, Lucena was sanctioned by several countries for her role in undermining democracy and human rights in the country. Early life and education Tibisay Lucena Ramírez was born in Barquisimeto on April 26, 1959. She studied cello and performed with Venezuela's National Youth Orchestra and Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra (1980–87). Lucena earned a B.A. in sociology from the Central University of Venezuela and worked as a researcher at the Institute of Advanced Studies of Administration. She then pursued graduate studies in the United States, earning an M.A. in sociology from the New School for Social Research in New York. Career In December 1999, during the transitional regime of the public branches, she was appointed by the National Constituent Assembly as alternate rector of the Venezuelan National Electoral Council (CNE). She was first elected as CNE president in 2006, and was reelected in 2009 for the 2009-2013 period. During the 2006 presidential elections, around 5 p.m., Lucena officially announced the end of the voting process, but gave orders to keep polling stations open if voters still remained in line. She would later declare Hugo Chávez as winner of the elections against Manuel Rosales at 10 p.m. During the 2013 presidential elections, Tibisay rejected the audit requested by opposition candidate Henrique Capriles after declaring he was defeating, saying that it was "impossible to carry out the audit in the terms proposed."