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France 24
6 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
Opposition boycott gifts Venezuelan ruling party absolute majority
Divisions in Venezuela 's opposition were laid bare Monday as it counted the cost of a ballot boycott that allowed authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro 's party to sweep regional and parliamentary elections. With the opposition virtually absent from the ballot, Maduro's United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) romped to victory in Sunday's vote for state governors and members of the National Assembly. The party swept to victory in 23 of the South American country's 24 states, and garnered an absolute majority in parliament until 2031 with more than 80 percent of the votes cast, according to provisional results from the CNE electoral authority. Turnout was lower than for the July 2024 presidential election in which Maduro claims to have won a third successive term, but the opposition and much of the international community says he stole. 08:10 The CNE, accused of being under Maduro's thumb, put Sunday's voter participation at a little over 42 percent. The main opposition group, led by popular figurehead Maria Corina Machado, had urged voters to stay away to avoid legitimizing a vote she described as a "farce." But a smaller opposition faction, led by two-time former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, opted to participate, arguing that previous boycotts had merely allowed Maduro to tighten his grip on power. On Monday, Capriles, who won an assembly seat, lamented the landslide win for "Chavismo" -- the populist socialist movement founded by Maduro's firebrand predecessor Hugo Chavez. "This was a predictable outcome. Abstention won, and with it the regime and those who promoted it," Capriles wrote on X, thanking opposition supporters "who went against the current" by casting a ballot. Maduro's son, 35-year-old MP Nicolas Maduro Guerra, and First Lady Cilia Flores were among those to retain their assembly seats. National Assembly president and key Maduro ally Jorge Rodriguez said the ruling party's coalition won 256 out of 285 seats in parliament, although the CNE had not released its final tally of results. Dozens of arrests The run-up to the election was marked by mass arrests and a fresh crackdown on dissent. More than 70 people were arrested last week on suspicion of planning to "sabotage" the vote. They included opposition member Juan Pablo Guanipa, held on accusations of heading a "terrorist network." Venezuela's government, which frequently alleges foreign-backed, opposition-led initiatives to topple Maduro, deployed more than 400,000 armed personnel on election day. Caracas also suspended flight connections with Colombia and restricted border crossings. "This victory is the victory of peace and stability for all of Venezuela," Maduro said after the vote. "Peace, peace, peace!" Many opposition supporters said they could not countenance voting again after last July's showdown in which the CNE quickly declared Maduro the winner without releasing detailed results. The opposition published its own tally from individual polling stations, showing a convincing win for its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia. A crackdown on post-election protests left 28 dead, hundreds behind bars, and saw worldwide condemnation of alleged rights abuses and lack of transparency around the results. Machado said Sunday the opposition boycott had exposed the election as a "grand farce" and called again, in vain, on the armed forces to turn against Maduro. Writing on X, Gonzalez Urrutia, who went into exile in Spain last year, said the boycott was a "silent but resounding declaration that the desire for change, dignity and a future remains intact."
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Maduro's ruling party win called 'farce' by Venezuelan opposition
May 26 (UPI) -- Venezuela's ruling party, led by President Nicolas Maduro, swept to victory in regional and parliamentary elections. The elections Sunday came as multiple opposition groups called for Venezuelans to boycott the vote in protest to last July's presidential election in which Maduro was declared the winner in a disputed contest over Edmundo Gonzalez, who is recognized by the United States and several other nations as the lawful winner and Venezuelan president. Maduro's United Socialist Party of Venezuela , or PSUV, took 23 of the 24 state gubernatorial races and an absolute majority of 285 seats in Parliament. The opposition candidates won the governorship of one state, Cojedes, which is down from the four states in 2021 but won three national assembly seats under the UNT party. According to Venezuela's electoral council, which is dominated by Maduro loyalists, the PSUV won more than 82% of votes cast for Parliament. It was called a "farce" election by the South American country's opposition parties. Meanwhile, Maduro hailed the election results as a "victory of peace and stability." Opposition party leader Maria Corina Machado claimed voter turnout was below 15% while the government-run CNE says turnout was at around 42%. Earlier this month in a video message, Machado said "we voted on 28 July" but "on May 25, we won't vote." "More than 85% of Venezuelans did not obey this regime and said 'no'," Machado said about the effort to keep Venezuelan voters home instead of casting a ballot. On Monday, the Canadian government said Sunday's elections in Venezuela were neither free nor fair as "repression, arbitrary detentions and silencing of opposition persist." "We call for an end to human rights abuses and the immediate release of all unjustly detained," officials in the Canadian Global Affairs Department, which manages Canada's diplomatic and consular relations, added.
Business Recorder
6 days ago
- Politics
- Business Recorder
Venezuela's Maduro wins landslide in election boycotted by opposition
CARACAS: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's party on Sunday swept the board in parliamentary and regional elections that were boycotted by the opposition in protest over his disputed re-election last year. The United Socialist Party of Venezuela won 23 out of 24 state governor positions and scored 82.68 percent of the votes cast for lists of National Assembly members, the electoral council (CNE) said. The constituency-level results of the parliamentary vote had yet to be tallied. The main opposition group, led by popular figurehead Maria Corina Machado, had urged voters to stay away to avoid legitimizing what she described as a 'farce' election. AFP journalists who visited polling stations in several cities said turnout was much lower compared to the July 2024 presidential election. The CNE put voter turnout at a little over 42 percent of Venezuela's 21 million eligible voters. The run-up to the vote was marked by mass arrests and a new crackdown on dissent. Over 70 people were arrested on suspicion of planning to 'sabotage' the election. Among those arrested was leading opposition member Juan Pablo Guanipa, held on charges of heading the 'terrorist network' behind the alleged plot. Venezuela's authoritarian leftist government frequently alleges foreign-backed, opposition-led initiatives to topple Maduro, who took over on the death of his mentor, socialist firebrand Hugo Chavez in 2013. On Sunday, Maduro hailed the election results as a 'victory of peace and stability' and said it 'proved the power of Chavismo' — the left-wing, populist political movement founded by his predecessor. The vote was for 285 members of the National Assembly and 24 governors — including for the first time in Essequibo, an oil-rich region controlled by neighboring Guyana but claimed by Caracas. But many Venezuelans said they lost faith in the electoral process after last July's presidential vote. Electoral authorities quickly declared Maduro the winner of a third six-year term in that election, without releasing detailed results. The opposition published its own tally from individual polling stations, showing a convincing win for its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia. The crackdown on post-election protests left 28 dead, hundreds behind bars, and cemented Venezuela's pariah status on the world stage. On Sunday before the results were announced, Maduro shrugged off the opposition boycott. 'When the opponent withdraws from the field, we advance and occupy the terrain,' he said matter-of-factly. Machado published several pictures of deserted polling stations on social media.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Venezuela's ruling party claims election win as opposition boycotts poll
Venezuela's ruling party is celebrating what it has described as "an overwhelming victory" in regional and parliamentary elections, which were boycotted by the majority of opposition parties. The electoral council (CNE), which is dominated by government loyalists, says candidates for the United Socialist Party of Venezuela's (PSUV) - President Nicolás Maduro's party - won the race for governor in 23 out of the country's 24 states. According to the CNE, the ruling coalition also won 82.68% of the votes cast for the National Assembly, Venezuela's legislative body. The main opposition parties called the elections a "farce". Opposition leader, María Corina Machado, said turnout had been below 15%. "More than 85% of Venezuelans did not obey this regime and said 'no'," Machado said about those who abstained. Independent journalists who visited polling stations throughout the day said that they saw no queues and fewer people turning out than for the presidential election last July. The CNE meanwhile put the turn-out at 42.6%. The opposition has long questioned the independence of the CNE, which is led by Elvis Amoroso, a former legal counsel to President Maduro. The CNE came in for widespread international criticism in last year when it declared Mr Maduro the winner of the presidential election without ever providing the detailed voting tallies to back up their claim. Venezuela's opposition, meanwhile, published voting tallies it had gathered with the help of official election observers which showed that its candidate, Edmundo González, was the overwhelming winner. Amid the wave of repression and arrests which followed the presidential election, González went into exile to Spain. Machado, who threw her weight behind presidential hopeful Edmundo González after she was barred from running for public office, remained in Venezuela. She was the main advocate for boycotting this Sunday's legislative and gubernatorial elections, saying that the result of July's presidential election should be respected before any new elections are held. "We voted on 28 July. On 25 May, we won't vote," she said in a video message shared earlier this month. However, a handful of opposition politicians did run for office, arguing that leaving the field open to government candidates was a mistake. Among them were former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, Zulia state governor Manuel Rosales and Juan Requesens, who was jailed by the Maduro government for allegedly taking part in a 2018 drone attack on the president. Capriles told Spanish daily El País that for him "voting in Venezuela is an expression of resistance, of resilience, of not giving up". Their decision to stand in the elections was criticised by those calling for a boycott, with Machado saying they had "betrayed the cause". With turnout low, President Maduro's PSUV party sailed to victory in 23 of the 24 gubernatorial races, up from the 20 governor posts it previously held. According to the preliminary results of the legislative election, the coalition backing President Maduro won an absolute majority of the 285 seats. But three politicians from Henrique Capriles' opposition UNT party were also voted into the National Assembly, including Capriles himself. Maduro has hailed the result as a "victory of peace and stability" and celebrated the fact that his party had regained control of the states of Zulia and, in particular, Barinas, the home state of his predecessor in office and political mentor, Hugo Chávez. Only the state of Cojedes will now be in opposition hands, following the re-election of opposition candidate Alberto Galíndez. Sunday's vote was preceded by a wave of arrests, which saw more than 70 people with links to the opposition detained for allegedly "planning to sabotage the election". Among those detained is Juan Pablo Guanipa, 60, a close ally of María Corina Machado. The interior minister accused him of being "one of the leaders of this terrorist network" which he claimed had been plotting to disrupt the election by planting bombs at key sites. Machado said his arrest and those of dozens of others was "state terrorism, pure and simple". Five Venezuelan opposition members 'rescued' from Caracas, US says Venezuelan opposition activist dies in jail 'I thought I was going to die': Jailed Venezuelan activist details brutality of prison life Venezuelan voters were also asked to choose representatives for the Essequibo region, a territory long administered and controlled by neighbouring Guyana which Venezuela claims as its own. The territorial dispute has been submitted by Guyana to the International Court of Justice, which had ordered Venezuela to refrain from conducting elections for representatives for the region, an order which the Maduro government defied. As Venezuela is not in control of the Essequibo, there were no polling stations in the territory nor did the people living there get a chance to vote. Instead, voters in a small district expressly created for the purpose on the Venezuelan side of the border were asked to cast their vote, which will have only symbolic value. Neil Villamizar, an admiral loyal to President Maduro, won the unusual vote and will now be declared "governor of Essequibo" by the Venezuelan government even though he has no power or control over the territory, which remains in Guyanese hands. The president of Guyana, Irfaan Ali, has denounced the move as a "scandalous, false, propagandistic, opportunistic" and has said he will "do everything to ensure our territorial integrity and sovereignty is kept intact". UK to send warship to Guyana amid Venezuela tensions Venezuelans back claim to Guyana-controlled region
Chicago Tribune
7 days ago
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Many Venezuelan voters, frustrated and disillusioned, skip election
CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelans still reeling from the outcome of last year's presidential election did not respond Sunday to government calls to get out and vote for lawmakers, governors and other officials. That left voting centers practically empty at times and put officials on the defensive. The election, which the political opposition urged people to boycott, was the first to allow broad voter participation since the presidential contest that President Nicolás Maduro claimed to have won last year despite credible evidence to the contrary. It took place two days after the government detained dozens of people, including a prominent opposition leader, and linked them to an alleged plot to hinder the vote. Members of the military throughout the day outnumbered voters at many polling centers in the capital, Caracas, where no lines formed outside in stark contrast with the enthusiasm of the July presidential election, when some people lined up for hours. But senior government officials insisted polling centers saw such overwhelming participation on Sunday that they had to remain open past the scheduled 12 hours of operation. Electoral authorities said 42.66% of registered voters cast ballots across the country. Some 21.4 million people were registered, meaning the National Electoral Council claimed that about 9.12 million voters participated. Voter participation, in the eyes of the opposition, legitimizes Maduro's claim to power and his government's repressive apparatus, which after the July presidential election detained more than 2,000 people including protesters, poll workers, political activists and minors, to quash dissent. 'I'm not going to vote,' truck driver Carlos León, 41, said standing near a desolate polling station in downtown Caracas. 'I don't believe in the (electoral authority). I don't think they'll respect the vote. Nobody forgets what happened in the presidential elections. It's sad, but it's true.' A nationwide poll conducted between April 29 and May 4 by the Venezuela-based research firm Delphos showed that only 15.9% of voters expressed a high probability of voting Sunday. Of those, 74.2% said they would vote for the candidates of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela and its allies, while 13.8% said they would vote for contenders associated with two opposition leaders who are not boycotting the elections. 'Today, we witnessed an event that attempted to disguise itself as an election, but failed to deceive the country or the world,' Edmundo González, who is recognized by the United States and several other countries as the winner of the July presidential election, posted on X. 'What the world saw today was an act of civic courage. A silent but powerful declaration that the desire for change, dignity, and a future remains intact,' he added. Opposition leaders chose González, a retired diplomat, as the faction's presidential candidate because the government banned primary winner Maria Corina Machado from running for office. González has been in exile since September to avoid arrest and, for the same reason, Machado has not been seen in public since January. Machado's close ally, Juan Pablo Guanipa, was among 70 people detained Friday for alleged anti-government activities. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello linked Guanipa to an alleged 'terrorist group' plotting to disturb Sunday's vote. Guanipa's brother, Tomás, rejected the accusation and said the arrest was punishment for 'thinking differently' from the government. The ruling party-loyal National Electoral Council oversaw Sunday's election for state legislators, 285 members of the unicameral National Assembly and all 24 governors, including the newly created governorship purportedly established to administer Essequibo, a region long under dispute between Venezuela and neighboring Guyana. Among the members of the opposition who were on Sunday's ballot were twice-failed presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, who won a seat in the National Assembly, and former lawmaker Juan Requesens, who lost his bid for governor. Requesens spent years in prison after authorities accused him of participating in a failed drone attack against Maduro. The electoral body reported that the ruling party won 23 of the 24 gubernatorial races. Maduro's party also kept control of the National Assembly. Maduro after voting said the electronic polling process is 'very fast and very easy,' seemingly justifying the lack of lines at polling centers. His ruling-party ally, Gov. Freddy Bernal, explained the apparent low turnout similarly. 'We won't see long lines because the process is very fast,' Bernal, who was reelected governor of the state of Táchira, told state television. Maduro also criticized opposition factions who asked people not to vote. 'What did they win? They lost everything,' Maduro said three times regarding previous opposition boycotts. 'They — the ones running that campaign — are nothing, and Venezuela continues its course.' The ruling party controls 19 governorships and more than 90% of the National Assembly seats. But in Maduro's Venezuela, regional elected officials, regardless of party affiliation, have limited impact on people's lives because his highly centralized government controls practically everything from Caracas. The government also represses the opposition by, for instance, disqualifying a candidate after the election or appointing a ruling-party loyalist to oversee the elected offices held by opponents, rendering them powerless. Further, after the opposition won control of the National Assembly in 2015, Maduro created an election for members of a Constituent Assembly in 2017. That body, controlled by the ruling party, decreed itself superior to all other branches of government until it ceased to exist in 2020. On Sunday, state television showed daylight footage of voters gathered at some polling centers outside Caracas, including from Indigenous communities where people traveled by boat and defied heavy rains to vote. In a working-class neighborhood in the capital, the National Guard placed three armored personnel carriers, but by midday, the nearest voting center had no visible activity and soldiers were looking at their cellphones while they sheltered from the sun. Meanwhile, voters at a polling place in downtown Caracas said they cast ballots out of fear of losing their government jobs or food and other state-controlled benefits. And in an opposition stronghold, some ignored the boycott calls believing that voting is their civic duty, while others saw the election as a chance to keep their local government under opposition control. 'I'm defending my municipality,' said Edith, the owner of a bankrupt family business who declined to give her last name out of fear of government reprisals. 'I'm still angry with what happened in July, but I have to defend it.'
