Venezuela’s Fraudulent Election Triggers a Political Crisis
Venezuela’s election is mired in controversy with disputed results, massive protests, and international scrutiny, while Maduro’s supposed victory remains contested because of the government’s lack of evidence.Venezuela finds itself in a new phase of its prolonged political crisis. The National Electoral Council (CNE) declared Nicolás Maduro the winner of the July 28th elections in a move that concluded an electoral process fraught with irregularities, triggering massive protests and an international legitimacy crisis. The core issue stems from the lack of evidence supporting Maduro’s victory. Government authorities have yet to release the official vote tallies—documents produced by the country’s electronic voting machines that certify results. Meanwhile, the opposition has announced that, thanks to its extensive network of voting witnesses, it has gathered over 80% of the tallies, revealing that opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia won with 67% of the vote.
The 2024 election cycle has been marred by irregularities, including stringent limits on voter registration, the barring of opposition leader María Corina Machado and her designated candidate Corina Yoris from holding office (which in turn led to González´s candidacy), and uneven enforcement of campaign regulations. These issues intensified as polling stations closed at 6 PM on July 28th. Reports emerged of polling centers closing prematurely, others remaining open with no voters, and widespread denial of access to opposition witnesses and citizen verification. Despite these problems, the electronic vote count transmission continued, only to be abruptly halted at 30%, according to opposition witnesses. At midnight, Elvis Amoroso, head of the CNE, announced a 59% participation rate, with Maduro securing 51.2% of the votes and Edmundo González receiving 44.2%. The international community responded swiftly. Authoritarian allies of Chavismo, including Belarus, Serbia, Russia, and China, congratulated Maduro without questioning the election’s legitimacy. On July 29th, the opposition announced that it controlled over 70% of the tallies and had uploaded them to a website where citizens can access and verify the numbers, confirming González’s victory. These documents, printed by the voting machines before transmission to the CNE headquarters, feature a multi-layered security system designed to prevent duplication or falsification. According to these documents, González won in every state with a margin that makes it the second-largest victory in Venezuela’s democratic history. In the days that followed, several countries, including Ecuador, Costa Rica, Argentina, Uruguay, Panama, and the United States, called on Maduro to release the official voter tallies and subsequently recognized González as the winner. Leaders of Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil, close allies of Maduro, have called for transparency and are reportedly engaged in negotiations between Maduro’s government and the opposition, according to the Spanish newspaper El País. Venezuela, with the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves and once the most advanced economy in Latin America, has plunged into a severe crisis since Nicolás Maduro took power in 2013. The country has been plagued by 130,000% hyperinflation and widespread shortages. Since 2014, over 7.7 million Venezuelans have fled, marking the largest exodus in recent Latin American history. At the time of this writing, the government has not released the official voter tallies and following organic protests on Monday, has escalated repression and threatened to arrest opposition leader María Corina Machado and her designated candidate, Edmundo González. According to the NGO Foro Penal, there have been 988 verified arrests, including 91 teenagers. Additionally, there are nearly 20 casualties resulting from encounters between protesters and security forces. The situation in Venezuela remains fluid and contentious. The opposition held massive rallies on August 3rd and continues to emphasize peaceful protests. The aftermath of this election is likely to be marked by ongoing disputes and negotiations until the swearing-in ceremony in January 2025, representing a new chapter in the country’s history. |