Credit…Adriana Loureiro Fernandez for The New York Times
Published October 30, 2023
The government’s move to annul the election of a candidate to challenge President Nicolás Maduro raises questions about its commitment to a free election.
It seemed like a small glimmer of hope for supporters of democracy, after years of authoritarian rule.
The election of an opposition candidate to challenge Venezuela’s president, which followed on a commitment from the government to hold free and fair elections next year, led to cautious optimism among Venezuelans and international observers about the possibility of establishing a path back to democracy.
But now the government of President Nicolás Maduro is taking aim at the opposition election held this month, raising concerns that Mr. Maduro will resist any serious challenge to his 10-year hold on power even as his country continues to suffer under international sanctions.
The opposition primary in Venezuela, a South American nation of roughly 28 million people, took place with no official government support. Instead, the vote was organized by civil society, with polling stations in homes, parks and the offices of opposition parties.
More than 2.4 million Venezuelans cast ballots, an impressive number that suggests how engaged voters could be in the general election that is supposed to take place in 2024.
But in the days that followed, the president of the Maduro-controlled legislature has claimed that the voter turnout was inflated and called the organizers “thieves” and “scammers,” and the election a “farce.”
“The primaries sent a clear message that the Venezuelan people are, in essence, profoundly democratic,” said Tamara Taraciuk Broner, who researches Venezuela for the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based research organization. “And if they have the option to vote, they will express themselves through the vote. And that is a huge challenge to those in power.”
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SOURCE: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/31/world/americas/maduro-venezuela-election.html
RELATED: Communist Maduro Tricks Joe Biden – Once Again Riggs Elections in Venezuela
Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and President Joe Biden.
Published October 31, 2023
The communist dictator of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, orchestrated a new fraud in the primary elections of his country.
The suspension of the primary elections was decreed last Monday, 30, by the Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela, controlled by judges aligned with Nicolas Maduro. The Court nullified the primary elections at the request of a congressman linked to Maduro.
Jose Brito, a Chavista congressman, filed a motion in court alleging irregularities in the electoral process.
As reported by TGP in August, the U.S. lifted commercial sanctions on Venezuelan oil under the promise of free elections in Venezuela. The agreement involved the release of five opposition political prisoners, while the Biden administration agreed to ease sanctions on Venezuelan oil, gas, and gold for a period of six months, on the condition that Venezuela would allow free elections in 2024.
However, despite Venezuela’s promise, allies of the current dictator decided to suspend the primary elections that elected right-wing candidate Maria Corina Machado, a Maduro opponent, as the main contender for the 2024 electoral race.
In June, Mrs. Corina Machado was banned by the Venezuelan dictatorship from holding public office for 15 years, in a case of political persecution like the processes imposed on conservative candidates such as Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil and Donald Trump in US.
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SOURCE: https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/10/communist-maduro-tricks-joe-biden-once-again-riggs/
RELATED: Venezuela suspends opposition leader’s win despite fair elections promise
The Venezuelan opposition’s presidential candidate, María Corina Machado (center), during a proclamation ceremony in Caracas on Oct. 26. Photo: Gaby Oráa/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Published October 30, 2023
Venezuela’s top court on Monday suspended the results of presidential primaries held by the opposition coalition despite an agreement this month to hold free elections.
Why it matters: Experts say the preliminary decision is an attempt to push the opposition out of the 2024 race and likely violates an agreement signed earlier this month by the government of President Nicolás Maduro and the opposition. That agreement resulted in the U.S. easing sanctions on Venezuelan oil, gas and gold.
State of play: María Corina Machado, a former member of Congress, last week won the primary election to represent the opposition coalition, Plataforma Unitaria. She received more than 2 million votes from Venezuelans in the country and abroad.
- Attorney General Tarek William Saab, a member of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), immediately said his office would investigate the organizers of the primary election for alleged identity theft, money laundering and conspiracy in the primaries.
- The high court said Machado’s victory should be suspended as evidence is gathered in the case.
- Machado and the opposition say the Oct. 22 vote was transparent and fair.
A State Department spokesperson in a statement to Axios Latino on Monday said the opposition’s primary election was an important milestone and that the Maduro government should uphold the commitments it made in the agreement, adding that the U.S. will take action otherwise.
