The Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, accused the Government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of holding flawed regional elections this Sunday that “skewed the process” to enter the result in favor of his party. Thus, Washington rejects the elections, even with the presence of observers from the European Union. In return, ALBA and the governments of Cuba, Nicaragua and Bolivia congratulated Chavismo.
There were several on Monday the leaders of the continent who questioned the elections in Venezuela, in which without many surprises the ruling party won the majority of the votes. Chavismo, and its United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), won the local elections this Sunday, November 21, in 205 mayors of the country of the 322 that already have confirmed results, the National Electoral Council reported on Monday.
However, according to the United States, the government of President Nicolás Maduro did nothing more than “once again” deprive Venezuelans of participating in a “fair and free” electoral process.
The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, did not hesitate to declare in a statement that “the regime altered the process to determine the outcome of these elections long before the ballots were cast.” To illustrate his claims, the chief of US diplomacy cited the criminalization of the opposition, the vetoes of candidates from across the political spectrum and even the manipulation of the voter registry.
Blinken also emphasized the “arbitrary” detention of more than 250 individuals for political reasons, “denying Venezuelans their rights to freely express their opinions and elect their own leaders.” The Secretary of State finally concluded that these practices were carried out to “guarantee that the elections do not reflect the will of the Venezuelan people.”
He also recalled that his government supports the negotiations between Venezuelans and the efforts of the opposition leader Juan Guaidó, whom the United States calls the “interim president” of Venezuela, after questioning the legitimacy of Maduro’s last re-election.
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For his part, Guaidó himself criticized the development of what “we cannot call a free and fair election.” The opposition leader reiterated that the elections this Sunday took place “without pre-existing conditions”, with the “kidnapping” of the opposition by “a power kidnapped by Nicolás Maduro.”
The latter, on the other hand, called for respect for the results of the country’s regional and local elections. “My call to everyone, winners and non-winners, is to respect the results, it is to political dialogue, it is to national reunification,” Maduro declared on Monday.
Maduro congratulates himself on his “perseverance”
The Venezuelan president indicated that the victory of the ruling party is due to the “perseverance” and “rectitude” of the militancy in their work, after emphasizing that the process took place in “peace” and “tranquility.”
A point of view shared by the head of the European Union’s electoral observation mission, MEP Isabel Santos, who confirmed in statements to journalists that the elections went “quietly”, according to the Anadolu agency.
And it is that the vote brought the return of international observers: the European Union, which had not worked in an election in Venezuela for 15 years, sent 34 observers, who will present a report on Tuesday. There was also the presence of experts from the United Nations and the Carter Center.
On the side of other organizations, the Venezuelan NGO Voto Joven reported on Monday that it processed “more than 755 reports” of irregularities during the regional and local elections held this Sunday. 41.6% of the 370 observers that make up the group denounced the use of public resources, while 23.8% highlighted events related to “political patronage.”
We managed to process more than 755 reports in the framework of the Regional and Municipal Elections thanks to our observers throughout the country. ???????? From the REC, we continue to contribute to the strengthening of the electoral path through citizen oversight and control. pic.twitter.com/e3sfD6Us0y
– VotoJoven (@VotoJoven) November 22, 2021
From Duque’s “farce” to congratulations from Cuba, Bolivia and Nicaragua
Among other reactions to the elections, Colombian President Iván Duque said that the process was “a sham”: “I believe that this was a chronicle of an announced fraud. Once again, the same thing happens, an election manipulated by a regime that controls absolutely everything”.
In one of the first reactions, completely opposite to the previous one, the communist president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, congratulated “the brave Venezuelan people” for the victory of his “brother” Nicolás Maduro. A message that arrived even before the National Electoral Council issued the official results.
I congratulate the brave Venezuelan people and the Great Patriotic Pole, led by Brother President @NicolasMaduro, for the resounding victory in the regional and municipal elections held in #Venezuela.
– Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez (@DiazCanelB) November 22, 2021
Bolivian President Luis Arce also congratulated the Venezuelan Government on Monday for “overcoming their political differences” at the polls. He also recognized the work of the electoral observers in this process.
In the same way, former President Evo Morales joined in the congratulations for the “great triumph of Chavismo” in the regional elections in Venezuela.
We congratulate the Venezuelan people and their institutions that, once again, bet on overcoming their political differences through democracy, at the polls, banishing all kinds of foreign interference. We acknowledge the work of the observers who accompanied this process. pic.twitter.com/VfKYUxRqCz
– Luis Alberto Arce Catacora (Lucho Arce) (@LuchoXBolivia) November 22, 2021
Joy shared by the president of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega. “We celebrate with you and with the Venezuelan families yesterday’s successful election day, and the formidable result that shows the infinite strength of that beloved people and its Bolivarian Revolution,” said the letter sent to President Nicolás Maduro. In that letter, Ortega also highlights the ties of friendship and collaboration between the two nations.
Finally, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) welcomed this Monday the “successful development” of the regional elections, “despite the interference threats and the imposition of unilateral coercive measures that violate international law.”
In a statement, the member countries of the alliance – Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Cuba, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Grenada – highlighted the transparency of the process that, they recalled, included the people-watching from 55 countries, which ensured “one of the safest and most reliable electoral systems in the world.”
With EFE, Reuters, AFP and local media
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