A Stolen Election and the Ongoing Struggle for Democracy

Sixty-five elections were held around the globe in 2024. What emerged from these polls was the realization that global democracy is at a critical juncture, especially with the disturbing trend of tyrants manipulating electoral systems to maintain their filthy grip on power. From Russia to Venezuela, from India to Bangladesh, from Georgia to Rwanda, elections in various nations ruled by authoritarian regimes have been marred by electoral fraud and voter intimidation or suppression. In many cases, these rulers have used state-controlled media, election law manipulation , and surveillance tactics to suppress opposition and limit free expression. The international community has watched as authoritarianism deepens, with proof of rigged or stolen elections becoming increasingly common. This new situation  represents not just a threat to the basic rights and freedoms of citizens all over the world, but to the very ideals of democratic governance that have long been a hallmark of the post-World War II global order. As 2024 comes to a close, it’s clear that the struggle for fair elections and democracy is far from over.

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In the days leading up to Venezuela’s July 28 elections, Venezuelans around the world were largely overcome by a sense of renewed, although fragile, faith in liberation. Those who dared to feel hope again were prompted to do so by opposition leader Maria Corina Machado’s inspiring and relentless efforts to pick up the country’s spirits. After more than a year of active campaigning, reaching every corner of the country, and bravely pushing through all of the regime’s threats, she and her team managed to persuade a fatigued population to not only cast their votes, but defend them. 

The 25-year-old dictatorship was never going to make a transition to democracy easy, though. Leading up to the election, Nicolás Maduro’s regime not only disqualified Machado, who won the primary elections by a landslide, but also disqualified her replacement, Corina Yoris, and extensively intimidated her team. Perseveringly, Machado’s team appointed Edmundo González Urrutia, a respected career diplomat, as a replacement candidate. The lead-up to the Venezuelan elections reflected an unequivocally unlevel playing field, and as time came to prove, an aftermath that was even more unjust. 

On election day, reports indicated that nearly 54% of voting centers experienced machine failures, and instances of intimidation were rampant, with 14% of centers reporting coercive tactics. Pro-regime armed groups, known as colectivos, were deployed to harass voters, resulting in multiple injuries and even a fatality. Despite all of this, Venezuelans organized and volunteered in mass to become observers at polling stations across the country, managing to obtain original copies — to which participating parties are entitled — of 83.5% of all voting tally sheets that were sent to the regime-controlled electoral authorities for final counting. These tally sheets were then published online, and showed that González Urrutia obtained more than two thirds of the vote — specifically 67% against Maduro’s 30%. The regime on the other hand swiftly declared Maduro the winner with a made-up figure of 52%. As of today, they have provided no evidence for this supposed victory.

The post-election period saw a crackdown on civil liberties, with 450 documented cases of human rights abuses in the week following the vote. Protests erupted, and security forces repressed 138 demonstrations, leading to 24 deaths. Additionally, the government passed restrictive laws targeting NGOs and intensified censorship by blocking social media platforms, effectively stifling dissent. Arbitrary arrests surged, with over 2,000 detentions, including minors, as the regime attempted to maintain control through fear and repression.

Despite the regime’s brutality, the heroic efforts of the opposition managed to open a new window of opportunity for Venezuela, exposing the regime’s weakness and lack of popular support, and mobilizing the international supporters of a transition to democracy in the country. But as the peace protest movement keeps demanding that the regime respects the sovereign will of the voters expressed in the polls, they face an uneven battle against a violent and highly corrupt repressive machinery, and widespread targeted persecution of pro-democracy leaders and activists.

Venezuelans are doing everything they can to rescue their country from the regime. Now it’s the international community’s responsibility to step up and ensure they succeed. Some small but important steps have been taken. On Aug. 16, the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States adopted a resolution demanding transparency and the publication of the official voting tallies, and on Oct. 2, it invited the Carter Center, the only independent electoral observer that was allowed by the regime to monitor the election on the ground, to provide its testimony. The Carter Center confirmed the validity of the results provided by the opposition and denounced the regime’s blatant fraud attempt. On Sept.2, the European Parliament went a step further and recognized González as the president-elect of Venezuela. More democratic countries — particularly in the region — need to follow suit.

Yet, diplomacy has so far not been enough to deter the regime’s gross and systematic human rights violations. Since the election, we have witnessed another wave of state-terrorism policies that amount to crimes against humanity against the Venezuelan people, and the international community must push forward the fight for accountability. In 2021, the International Criminal Court opened an official investigation into Maduro’s crimes. In light of the rapidly growing evidence and the sustained harm done to the Venezuelan people, the ICC prosecutor has a responsibility to take further action against Maduro and those leading the country’s repressive policies, and the international community must step up its calls for timely and swift decisions by the Court. 

At the same time, the judiciary in Argentina opened its own investigation in 2022 after a group of Venezuelan victims approached the courts to demand accountability under the principle of universal jurisdiction for atrocity crimes. In light of the violent crackdown of Venezuelans that followed July 28, the South American country’s court has issued an arrest warrant against Nicolás Maduro and his right-hand man, Diosdado Cabello.

These accountability efforts are not only important to uphold the right to justice of the regime’s victims, but they can serve to pressure the regime and those who are part of its criminal structure, demonstrating that they will face consequences for trampling the fundamental rights and freedoms of the people. The international community must support the fight against impunity, empower the democratic opposition, and ramp up its efforts to enable a peaceful democratic transition culminating in Edmundo González taking office on Jan. 10, 2025.