Venezuela: Repression affects upcoming elections

(Bogotá) – Governments in Latin America, the United States, and Europe should spare no effort in diplomatic efforts to protect Venezuelans’ right to vote ahead of presidential elections scheduled for July 28, 2024, Human Rights Watch said today. They should increase scrutiny of Venezuela in the weeks before, during, and after Election Day.

Arrests of opposition members, arbitrary disqualification of opposition candidates and further restrictions on civic space have seriously undermined the electoral process. VenezuelaThe elections are being held against the backdrop of years of systematic human rights violations by the government and a severe humanitarian crisis that has forced some 8 million people to leave the country.

“While Venezuela’s elections can hardly be described as free or fair, the Venezuelan people have their best opportunity in more than a decade to elect a government, and the international community should support them as they do,” he said. Juanita GobertesAmericas director at Human Rights Watch. “The United States, Brazil, Colombia, and the European Union should use all diplomatic tools at their disposal to protect Venezuelans’ right to vote.”

On October 17, 2023, the Venezuelan opposition and government signed Barbados Agreementin which both sides agreed to respect the rights of political parties to choose their presidential candidates and to hold presidential elections in the second half of 2024, among other electoral protections. The United States agreed to temporarily lift certain sanctions in exchange for a commitment to hold free and fair elections.

The United States also released Alex Sabu, a Colombian businessman who had close ties to the government of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela and was accused of money laundering. However, the United States reimposed some sanctions in January and April 2024 because the Maduro government did not fully implement its commitments under the agreement.

The electoral process was marred by human rights violations and irregularities, resulting in an uneven playing field. Imposition Leaders who support the government have turned against the opposition, undermining the autonomy of political parties. At the end of June 2023, the Office of the Auditor General announced that opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was barred from running for office. In October 2023, she won The opposition won more than 90% of the vote in the primary election. However, in January 2024, the Supreme Court support The decision to ban her and another opposition leader, Henrique Capriles, from running.

Machado then proposed that Professor Corina Yoris run in her place, but election authorities Don’t allow her In March 2024, electoral authorities allowed former diplomat Edmundo González to Registration He is the presidential candidate of the opposition party with a single political platform.

Human Rights Watch said the government has repeatedly committed systematic human rights violations against critics and opposition leaders.

Pro bono legal group Foro Penal Reported In 2024, 114 people were arrested in politically motivated cases; 102 of them were linked to Machado and González, and 77 of them were arrested after the start of the July 4 political movement. Among those arrested were 27 people who had worked or volunteered for Machado’s political party, Vente Argentina. Six others sought asylum at the Argentine Embassy in Caracas after authorities threatened to arrest them.

While González and his supporter Machado have been mostly allowed to campaign, Venezuelan authorities have harassed people seen as supporting them, including allegedly closing or fining restaurants or hotels where Machado has stayed and detaining people who provide logistics such as sound equipment for her rallies.

On July 17, Maduro, who has been running for re-election since taking office in 2013, explain If he fails, Venezuela will descend into “bloodbath”.

During the elections, there were only a few international observers present and the number of observers was limited. The Carter CenterOne of the agencies said it would “not conduct a full assessment of the voting, counting and tabulation process”. and An election technical team will be sent, which will not make public statements and will produce a confidential report.

In May, the National Election Commission Withdrawn the invitation European Union observe On July 17, at the invitation of the opposition, a group of MEPs Agree to send An accompanying electoral delegation will be present during election day.

Foreign governments should closely monitor the election and publicly condemn any further efforts to undermine voting rights, including further arbitrary arrests and disqualifications, improper ballot manipulation, and arbitrary government interference in opposition party operations.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres should continue to monitor Venezuela’s electoral process and be prepared to take further action based on the report of the Electoral Technical Panel.

On July 22, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva urge Maduro acknowledged the election results. Lula said in an interview with the media: “Maduro said that if he loses the election, there will be a massacre, which scares me. Maduro needs to understand that if he wins, he will stay, and if he loses, he will leave – and then prepare for the next election.”

Human Rights Watch said the governments of Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Brazilian President Lula should use their engagement with the Venezuelan government to urge it to stop persecuting opposition leaders and supporters, protect the right of all voters to vote, and ensure that all votes are properly counted. They should encourage the Venezuelan government to prevent violence and promote an electoral process that fully respects human rights.

The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden should continue to use its influence, including conditional targeted sanctions, to promote respect for the people’s vote on Election Day and in the weeks that follow.

Karim Khan, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Ongoing investigation Crimes against humanity In Venezuela. The prosecutor should remind Venezuelan authorities that he may investigate repression if it again constitutes a crime within the jurisdiction of the ICC, a last resort that intervenes only when national authorities are genuinely unwilling or unable to do so.

“The Venezuelan people have a slim but real opportunity to make their voices heard,” Gobertus said. “The international community has a critical role to play in pressing for the protection of the rights of Venezuelan voters and ensuring their votes count.”