On 23 November, the European Union’s electoral observation mission (EU-EOM) published its preliminary report on the 21 November regional elections in Venezuela, highlighting “irregularities” in the electoral process but stating that the process had improved compared to previous election cycles.
Analysis:
The EU-EOM’s preliminary report indicates that the elections were fairer than many in the opposition have claimed, although it underscores fundamental concerns about the electoral process. The report claims that voter coercion was widespread, and that the ruling Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV) had an inbuilt advantage through the irregular use of government funds in campaigning. Nonetheless, the report found no evidence of ballot manipulation, undermining the arguments of many in Venezuela’s opposition and the international community that the election was “stolen” by President Nicolás Maduro’s government. An uneven playing field was always going to be the best-case scenario for the opposition, and the onus was on opposition leader Juan Guaidó to drive up high turnout and unite Venezuela’s fragmented opposition parties in a broad coalition, neither of which happened.
- The director of the EU-EOM, Isabel Santos, declined to say whether the vote was free and fair, pending the publication of the mission’s final report. However, she noted that “there have been arbitrary bans on candidates for administrative reasons, there have been suspensions, or the most recognised leaders or members of some parties have been withdrawn.”
- Santos also highlighted the “extended use of state resources” in the election campaign by the PSUV, including unbalanced coverage in the media and “the delivery of goods, such as food rations, gas bottles or water tanks” that she said were aimed at influencing voters’ preference.
- The report states that voters were coerced into backing the PSUV, reporting that government officials outside polling stations scanned the identification cards of voters who receive state benefits. The opposition has denounced this practice as an intimidation tactic. According to the EU-EOM, coercion took place in all of Venezuela’s 23 states.
- However, Santos said that the election results appear to be “technically” reliable, with the EU-EOM’s report stating that “the automated voting system offered sufficient guarantees of integrity and confidentiality.” The report adds that despite the “persistence of structural deficiencies… electoral conditions improved in comparison to the three previous national elections [in 2020, 2018, and 2017].”
- Marta Hurtado, a spokesperson for the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), yesterday called for investigations into several acts of political violence on polling day. She also cited “concerning” reports that some public employees had been forced to vote for the PSUV.
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken went further on 22 November, tweeting that “opposition harassment, media censorship and other undemocratic tactics ensured Venezuela’s elections were neither free nor fair.”
- Maduro, meanwhile, has welcomed the EU-EOM’s report, tweeting yesterday that the election observers “have seen the reality of a country under attack, which is on its feet and overcoming its difficulties.”
Looking Ahead: Santos said that she will return to Venezuela “at the end of January or the beginning of February” to present the EU-EOM’s final report.