Latest news with #VenezuelaElections
New York Times
26-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Venezuela's Government Claims Victory in Polls Boycotted by Opposition Leader
Venezuela's electoral council, stacked with officials loyal to the autocrat Nicolás Maduro, claimed late Sunday night that his party had won an overwhelming victory in regional and legislative elections. The results, announced on state television and presented without evidence, stripped the opposition of some of the last few positions it held, including the governor's seat of Zulia, the country's most populous state, and the heart of its oil wealth. Despite near empty streets and polling places, the electoral council claimed that turnout was higher than 40 percent. There were no independent observers present to verify that assertion, and the electoral council did not post the results online, as it had done in elections before 2024. Some Venezuelans said the turnout also signaled loyalty to the country's leading opposition figure, María Corina Machado, who had called on people to abstain from voting. The announcement comes less than a year after a presidential election in which Mr. Maduro also claimed victory, despite a vote count that showed that he had lost decisively to his opponent, Edmundo González. That count was found to be accurate by the Carter Center, an independent monitoring group, which said Mr. Maduro's claim was a 'falsification.' Speaking on state television on Sunday night, the vice president of the electoral body, Carlos Quintero, said that an alliance of parties that support Mr. Maduro had won more than 80 percent of votes in an election for legislative seats. The same alliance had won governors' seats in 22 of the country's 23 states, Mr. Quintero said. Previously, four states had been held by governors not aligned with the government. Now, just one, Cojedes, in central Venezuela, will be controlled by a dissenting voice.
News.com.au
25-05-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
Maduro party eyes big win as Venezuela opposition boycotts vote
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's party was eyeing a landslide victory in legislative and regional elections Sunday, after a wave of arrests of opposition members who called for a massive boycott of the vote. The main opposition group, led by popular figurehead Maria Corina Machado, had urged voters to stay away in protest at Maduro's disputed reelection last year. Among the dozens arrested ahead of Sunday's vote was leading opposition member Juan Pablo Guanipa, who was being held on charges of heading a "terrorist network" planning to "sabotage" the elections. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello linked Guanipa, a former lawmaker, to a group of 50 people arrested earlier in the week on suspicion of being mercenaries in the pay of foreign powers. Venezuela, which frequently alleges foreign-backed coup plots, said the suspects entered the country from Colombia and closed the busy border with its neighbor until after the election. Tensions were high on Sunday, with more than 400,000 security agents deployed to monitor the vote. Some 21 million voters were eligible to cast ballots 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. Turnout was however projected to be just 16 percent, according to pollster Delphos, after the main opposition urged Venezuelans not to legitimize what they see as yet another sham election. - 'Farce' - Many in Venezuela lost any remaining faith they had in the electoral process after last July's presidential vote. Electoral authorities quickly declared Maduro the winner without releasing detailed results. The opposition however published its own tally from individual polling stations, showing a convincing win for candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who has since gone into exile abroad. The crackdown on post-election protests left 28 dead, hundreds arrested, and cemented Venezuela's pariah status on the world stage. Opposition leader Machado had slammed this weekend's vote as an "enormous farce that the regime is trying to stage to bury its defeat." On Sunday, she published several pictures of deserted polling places on social media. Polls opened at 6:00 am (1000 GMT), but by midday AFP journalists at polling stations in Caracas, San Cristobal and Barinas reported that just a handful of voters had turned out. "It's an important process of citizen participation," said Samadi Romero, a 32-year-old university student who voted for Maduro's son for the National Assembly. "I'm not going to vote because I voted (in the presidential election) and they stole the elections. So it's really a farce," said Candelaria Rojas Sierra, a 78-year-old retired civil servant in San Cristobal, on her way to mass to "pray for Venezuela." - 'Fight the dictatorship' - Polls officially close at 6:00 pm (2200 GMT). A small opposition faction led by two-time former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles had rejected the boycott call, arguing that previous voter stayaways had merely allowed Maduro to expand his grip on power. "We must vote as an act of resistance, of struggle," said Capriles, who is running for the National Assembly. A message on Guanipa's X account shortly after his arrest declared he had been "kidnapped by the forces of Nicolas Maduro's regime" but would continue the "long fight against the dictatorship." - US blow to oil revenues - Only a handful of countries, including longtime allies Russia and Cuba, have recognized Maduro as the country's rightful leader. Sunday's election comes as the country's economy -- once the envy of Latin America, now in tatters after years of mismanagement and sanctions -- faces even further turmoil. US President Donald Trump has revoked permission for oil giant Chevron to continue pumping Venezuelan crude, potentially depriving Maduro's administration of its last lifeline. Washington has also revoked deportation protection from 350,000 Venezuelan migrants in the United States and expelled hundreds of others to a maximum security prison in El Salvador. Particularly closely watched will be the elections for the National Assembly and for state governor of Essequibo. Guyana has administered the region for decades but Caracas has threatened to partially annex it.
Free Malaysia Today
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Venezuelan opposition leader Guanipa arrested
Juan Pablo Guanipa had been in hiding since a presidential election last year. (EPA Images pic) CARACAS : Well-known Venezuela opposition politician Juan Pablo Guanipa, a close ally of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, is under arrest for allegedly leading a terrorist plot, interior minister Diosdado Cabello said yesterday. Officials regularly accuse the opposition of conspiring with countries such as the US to commit terrorism, overthrow president Nicolas Maduro and attack Venezuela's power grid. The opposition and Washington have always denied the accusations. Guanipa's arrest comes just days ahead of Venezuela's parliamentary elections. Seventy people, including foreigners, have been detained in the alleged plot to carry out attacks during tomorrow's regional and legislative elections, Cabello said, adding that Guanipa also faces charges of money laundering and inciting hatred. Guanipa, a 60-year-old lawyer and long-time politician, had been in hiding since a presidential election last year. Machado, who was barred from running for president but remains popular among many Venezuelans, is also in hiding. 'He thought he was untouchable, invisible,' Cabello said in a statement broadcast on state television, showing a video of Guanipa, clad in a flak jacket, being arrested by masked agents. Electoral authorities and the country's top court backed Maduro as last year's election winner, but have not offered ballot box level tallies of votes. The opposition, which has published detailed tallies, says its candidate roundly won, and international observers have said the vote was not democratic. The opposition and rights groups have decried a brutal crackdown by the government, including arrests, since the 2024 election. Guanipa said his arrest was motivated by the government's fear of the Venezuelan people and their votes last year. 'Brothers, if you are reading this it is because I have been kidnapped by the forces of the regime of Nicolas Maduro,' he said in a statement posted to his X account. 'I don't know what will happen to me in the coming hours, days and weeks. But I am sure that we will win this long fight against the dictatorship.' 'To Juan Pablo and all our imprisoned colleagues: every moment of our lives is dedicated to freeing you and all of Venezuela,' Machado said in her own post on X. She said 50 political activists, human rights defenders and journalists are among those arrested. Guanipa's brother Pedro was arrested in September for alleged corruption at the mayor's office in Maracaibo, where he was an official.
Al Jazeera
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
‘Farcical': Venezuelan opposition denounces arrest before weekend vote
A top figure in Venezuela's opposition has been arrested on charges of 'terrorism' before parliamentary elections scheduled for the weekend. On Friday, a social media account for Juan Pablo Guanipa, a close associate of Maria Corina Machado, considered the leader of the opposition coalition, announced he had been detained. State television also carried images of his arrest, as he was escorted away by armed guards. In a prewritten message online, Guanipa denounced Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for human rights abuses, including stifling political dissent and false imprisonment. 'Brothers and sisters, if you are reading this, it is because I have been kidnapped by the forces of Nicolas Maduro's regime,' Guanipa wrote. 'For months, I, like many Venezuelans, have been in hiding for my safety. Unfortunately, my time in hiding has come to an end. As of today, I am part of the list of Venezuelans kidnapped by the dictatorship.' Since Venezuela held a hotly contested presidential election in July 2024, Guanipa, along with several other opposition figures, has been in hiding, for fear of being arrested. That presidential election culminated in a disputed outcome and widespread protests. On the night of the vote, Venezuela's election authorities declared Maduro the winner, awarding him a third successive six-year term, but it failed to publish the polling tallies to substantiate that result. Meanwhile, the opposition coalition published tallies from voting stations that it said proved its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, had prevailed in a landslide. International watchdogs also criticised the election for its lack of transparency. Maduro's government responded to the election-related protests with a police crackdown that led to nearly 2,000 arrests and 25 people killed. It also issued arrest warrants against opposition leaders, accusing them of charges ranging from conspiracy to falsifying records. Maduro has long accused political dissidents of conspiring with foreign forces to topple his government. Gonzalez himself was among those for whom a warrant was signed. He fled to exile in Spain. Others have gone into hiding, avoiding the public eye. Until recently, a group of five opposition members had sought shelter in the Argentinian embassy in Caracas, until they were reportedly smuggled out of the country earlier this month. Opposition members and their supporters have dismissed the charges against them as spurious and further evidence of the Maduro government's repressive tactics. 'This is pure and simple STATE TERRORISM,' Machado, the opposition leader, wrote on social media in the wake of Guanipa's arrest. Machado and others have said that Guanipa was one of several people arrested in the lead-up to this weekend's regional elections, which will see members of the National Assembly and state-level positions on the ballot. Several prominent members of the opposition have pledged to boycott the vote, arguing it is a means for Maduro to consolidate power. 'Just hours before a farcical election with no guarantees of any kind, the regime has reactivated an operation of political repression,' Gonzalez wrote on social media, in reaction to the recent spate of arrests. He argued that the detention of Guanipa and others was a means of ensuring 'nothing will go off script' during Sunday's vote. 'They harass political, social, and community leaders. They persecute those who influence public opinion. They intend to shut down all alternative information spaces and ensure a narrative monopoly,' Gonzalez wrote. 'To the international community: This is not an election. It's an authoritarian device to shield the power they've usurped.'
Reuters
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Venezuela opposition leader Guanipa under arrest-interior minister
May 23 (Reuters) - Well-known Venezuela opposition figure Juan Pablo Guanipa, a close ally of Maria Corina Machado, is under arrest for allegedly leading a terrorist plot, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said on Friday. Officials regularly accuse the opposition of conspiring with countries such as the United States to commit terrorism, overthrow President Nicolas Maduro and attack Venezuela's power grid. The opposition has always denied the accusations. Guanipa, a lawyer and long-time politician, has been in hiding since a presidential election last year. Machado, who was barred from running for president but remains popular among many Venezuelans, is also in hiding. Electoral authorities and the country's top court backed Maduro as the winner, but have not offered ballot box level tallies of votes. The opposition, which has published detailed tallies, says its candidate roundly won. The opposition and rights groups have decried a brutal crackdown, including arrests, since the vote. "He thought he was untouchable, invisible," Cabello said in a statement broadcast on state television, showing a video of Guanipa, clad in a flak jacket, being arrested by masked agents. Seventy people, including foreigners, have so far been detained in the alleged plot to carry out attacks during Sunday's regional and legislative elections, Cabello added. His arrest was motivated by the government's fear of the Venezuelan people and their votes last year, Guanipa said in a statement posted to his X account. "Brothers, if you are reading this it is because I have been kidnapped by the forces of the regime of Nicolas Maduro," the statement said. "I don't know what will happen to me in the coming hours, days and weeks. But I am sure that we will win this long fight against the dictatorship." Guanipa's brother Pedro was arrested in September for alleged corruption at the mayor's office in Maracaibo, where he was an official.
