NEW YORK (July 29, 2024) тАФ The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) strongly condemns the Venezuelan authoritarian regimeтАЩs recently announced and patently fraudulent election results, giving dictator Nicol├бs Maduro a victory with 51.20% of the national vote. HRF considers the results announced by the Maduro-controlled National Electoral Council (CNE) patently fraudulent because they directly contradict the exit poll numbers documented by the unified democratic opposition тАФ led by the illegally disqualified candidate Mar├нa Corina Machado and her replacement, the unity candidate Edmundo Gonz├бlez тАФ which gave the democratic opposition candidate the victory with 70% of the national vote.
The numbers published by the Machado and Gonz├бlez camp, based on their membersтАЩ scrutiny of all voting centers, are largely consistent with the exit poll analysis carried out by the experienced New Jersey-based polling firm Edison Research, which has been deemed the most credible source by the Wall Street JournalтАЩs South America bureau chief, and gave the opposition a projected win with 65% of the vote.
тАЬIn a predictable yet outrageous move, the 25-year-old regimeтАЩs electoral mouthpiece has once again announced fraudulent election results, falsely claiming that the dictatorship has won. This blatant attempt to legitimize a rigged outcome is a slap in the face to the Venezuelan people and shows the degree of shamelessness the dictatorship will reach in order to maintain its illegitimate grip on power,тАЭ said HRF chief executive Thor Halvorssen. тАЬHRF stands in solidarity with the brave people of Venezuela, who deserve their votes to be counted and validated, instead of what has actually taken place during a contest that was neither free nor fair, but where the Venezuelan people massively and courageously mobilized in order to vote the dictatorship out,тАЭ he said.
In the lead-up to the elections, dictator Nicol├бs Maduro had ominously threatened that if he lost, there would be a тАЬbloodbathтАЭ in Venezuela. This chilling warning was a blatant attempt to intimidate voters, stifle opposition, and undermine the democratic process, but despite these threats, the Venezuelan people still got the vote out in historic fashion and are now in the streets peacefully demanding their votes to be properly counted and asking the dictatorship to allow for a transition to democracy. Furthermore, the regimeтАЩs refusal to allow independent international observers to monitor the elections is a clear indication of its intent to hide the truth. The Organization of American States (OAS) and the European Union (EU) were both denied the ability to send electoral observation missions to Venezuela. Also, in the days prior to the election, numerous international observers тАФ including former presidents and legislators from democratic countries тАФ were arbitrarily denied entry into Venezuela or expelled from the country, highlighting the governmentтАЩs desperation to conceal its electoral manipulation. The majority of observers were not independent and, instead, were hardcore supporters of the regime.
тАЬIn tune with the spirit of the Inter-American Democratic Charter that recognizes the Venezuelan peopleтАЩs right to democracy, the world must reject the fraudulent results announced by the regime and demand that the regime step down, while supporting the millions of Venezuelans that have taken to the streets to peacefully demand their votes to be counted. We urge the international community to join us in demanding the Maduro regime to step down so that genuine democratic reforms can happen in Venezuela and so that the regime is held accountable for two decades of tyranny and gross human rights abuses,тАЭ said HRFтАЩs chief legal and policy officer, Javier El-Hage. тАЬThis latest mockery of an electoral process characterized by the silencing of opposition voices, and the manipulation of the electoral results once again undermine the Venezuelan peopleтАЩs fundamental human right to free and fair elections, and canтАЩt be allowed to stand,тАЭ he said.
Voters in Venezuelan elections have for decades lacked the freedom to decide to vote against the Chavista regime, and the process has lacked the basic fairness that would allow the opposition to compete on a reasonably level playing field, with the mass media being tightly controlled by the regime and hundreds of political prisoners and iconic political leaders тАФ such as former Caracas mayors Leopoldo L├│pez and Alcalde Ledezma тАФ that have had to seek asylum above. The ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) has maintained power since 1999, when the then Hugo Ch├бvez-led government started implementing measures to suppress opposition, including restricting candidate registrations, censoring media, and manipulating electoral processes. The regime-controlled CNE, responsible for overseeing elections, is dominated by overt government loyalists, leading to corruption and bias in the way elections are carried out.
Historically, the government has used tools like the тАЬTasc├│n ListтАЭ (which published the names of Venezuelans who had voted in a recall referendum against Ch├бvez) to punish opposition voters and the тАЬMaisanta ProgramтАЭ to reward loyalists, creating a climate of fear and coercion. The Tasc├│n List, named after Chavista legislator Luis Tasc├│n, was used to identify and blacklist opposition supporters, denying them access to public services and employment. Similarly, the Maisanta Program was used to target opponents for political discrimination, including by rewarding government supporters, creating a system of patronage and dependence. These factors have led to widespread agreement about the lack of democratic legitimacy of VenezuelaтАЩs electoral processes, with independent watchdogs, including HRF, long considering them to be neither free nor fair.
The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies.
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