Venezuela: While US Politicians Call Fraud, American Election Observers Endorse Results

by Alan Macleod  

Part 1

 

Much to the chagrin of the U.S. government, socialist candidate Nicolas Maduro won a third successive term in office on Sunday, convincingly beating his U.S.-backed opponents, Edmundo Gonzalez and Maria Corina Machado, by seven points.

Almost immediately after the results were announced, American officials began decrying the elections as a farce. “We commend [the Venezuelan people’s] courage and commitment to democracy in the face of repression,” Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a speech on Sunday evening, adding:

                                     We have serious concerns that the result announced does not affect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people. It is critical that every vote be counted fairly and transparently. That election officials immediately share information with the opposition and independent observers without delay, and that electoral authorities publish the detailed tabulation of votes. The international community is watching this very closely, and will respond accordingly.

Senator Marco Rubio, a longtime Venezuela hawk, went further, stating, “Everybody knows massive voter turnout like the one today in Venezuela would result in a massive loss by Maduro. The ONLY way he wins is with massive fraud.”

 

He went on to say that Maduro should have lost by 40 points and would immediately institute a communications blackout across the country in an effort to cement his rule (something that did not happen).

Statements like these completely contrast the accounts and testimonies of dozens of American electoral observers in Venezuela, many of whom spoke with MintPress News.

“I don’t agree with Marco Rubio,” said Wyatt Souers, a representative of the International People’s Assembly, explaining that: 

                                     The U.S. has tried to destabilize and undermine the legitimacy of basically every Venezuelan election in recent memory. Ahead of the election, they always put out statements and media pieces, declaring the election a fraud before it even happens. But what we have witnessed this week is tons of support for the Maduro government amongst the people here.

Souers visited several polling stations in the Caracas area and noted that turnout was “massive”, with hundreds of people inside the voting stations at any given time.

                                  We got to go in and see the voting process. Everything was happening according to protocol. And so, I would say it seems like these elections are legitimate, and we fully support the right of the Venezuelan people to determine their own future.

Roger D. Harris, an observer from Task Force on the Americas, spent the day observing electoral centers in Miranda State. He and others told MintPress that opposition supporters were perfectly happy to publicly announce their allegiances and express their grievances with the government. Despite their opposition to socialism, most retained confidence in the electoral system. As Harris noted:

                                          I spoke to a person who is voting against Maduro, a professional who studied psychology in San Francisco. She was hopeful for change. But what was very significant was that she thought that the electoral process is free and fair. Overall, our impression of going to the various polling places was that people were very welcoming to us international observers, and were very proud to be out there voting for their country.

Source, links:

https://www.mintpressnews.com/venezuela-while-us-politicians-call-fraud-american-election-observers-endorse-results/288010/

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