Did Maduro really win Venezuela election? 5 things that made it disputed

In contested election watched closely across the Americas, Venezuela’s longtime ruler Nicolas Maduro has been declared as the winner.

The Opposition has also claimed victory and has alleged electoral fraud. While the Maduro-controlled election body said he had won 51.2 per cent of the vote, the Opposition claimed its candidate, Edmundo González, won 70 per cent of votes against Maduro’s 30 per cent.

Ahead of the Sunday’s vote, the Opposition had expressed fears about Maduro resorting to electoral fraud to win or simply refusing to concede defeat. The election was held amid warnings of a “bloodbath” by Maduro. His regime had also arrested several Opposition figures and had barred the most popular Opposition leader, María Corina, from contesting.

On the day of the voting, there were widespread complaints of voter suppression and electoral malpractices. Amid such complaints and Maduro’s long history of crushing opponents and critics forcefully to stay in power have led to concerns whether Maduro has actually won or he has upturned the genuine mandate as per the fears of the opposition.

More from World

Nepal's new PM pays homage to people died during the Gen Z protest in her first national address This Week in Explainers: How recovering from Gen-Z protests is a Himalayan task for Nepal

Here are five reasons why Venezuelan election result in favour of Maduro are disputed.

1. Maduro’s crackdown on Opposition ahead of vote

Firstly, the main Opposition candidate, María Corina, was barred from contesting election.

Secondly, Maduro’s regime opened criminal investigations against Maria’s supporters. It issued warrants against them and arrested members of her staff, according to The Associated Press.

Thirdly, ahead of the elections, Maduro warned that there could be “bloodbath” in case he lost. This was seen as a tactic to instil fear among the electorate and the Opposition that was already reeling from a crackdown.

Impact Shorts

More Shorts

‘The cries of this widow will echo’: In first public remarks, Erika Kirk warns Charlie’s killers they’ve ‘unleashed a fire’

Trump urges Nato to back sanctions on Russia, calls for 50–100% tariffs on China

2. Maduro has manipulated elections before

Maduro has a history of clinging onto powers by illegitimate means.

In the constituent assembly elections in 2017, Maduro-controlled election authority had manipulated the voting figures by at least 1 million.

Smartmatic, a company that set up the voting systems, said in a statement that it knew “without any doubt” that the figures were manipulated.

“We estimate the difference between the actual participation and the one announced by authorities is at least one million votes. It is important to point out that this would not have occurred if the auditors of all political parties had been present at the different stages of the election,” said Smartmatic.

Maduro’s policies around the vote had led to a boycott from the Opposition. There were no observers as well from the Opposition when the results were pouring in. This meant that the vote was not manipulated but was highly one-sided.

The 2018 election that brought Maduro a second term has widely considered sham.

3. Sunday’s vote was contested

The Sunday’s vote and the subsequent result published by the Maduro-controlled authority have been questioned by both the Opposition as well as several official in the Americas, according to The New York Times.

The newspaper reported that two vote counts happen in Venezuela. One, a digital rally received by the country’s election body headed by his ally, and, two a paper count printed by each voting machine at polling stations. It is through these paper counts that voters cross-check the digital count.

In a sign that Maduro’s regime has manipulated the elections yet again, in Sunday’s vote, election officials at some key voting stations refused to give paper tallies to election observers, according to the newspaper. Such incidents were reported in capital Caracas and the second-largest city Maracaibo.

As allegations of election manipulation fly around amid a proven track-record of election fudging, voters and observers are left with no means to verify their votes. Such a condition has led to the result being disputed.

4. Voter repression

Maduro stands accused of not only election manipulation and crackdown of the opposition, but he is accused of voter repression during Sunday’s vote.

Even before the vote, to reduce the number of eligible voters, the Maduro’s regime created significant impediments for Venezuelans abroad to vote, such as mandating unattainable passport and residency requirements, according to CNN.

The Times reported that around 15 men unmarked black jackets temporary blocked access to a voting centre in Venezuelan capital Caracas.

In the city of Maturin, a voting station was attacked and a woman was shot, a former lawmaker at the scene told the newspaper.

At several voting stations, the voting began late and machines stopped working, as per the newspaper.

There have also been reports of observers being barred from voting stations. In one instance, witnesses were quoted as saying that the regime forces tried removing an observer of the Opposition. At some places, it has been reported that voting stations stayed open beyond the voting hours as Maduro’s supporters were rounding up people to cast vote in his favour beyond the voting hours.

The newspaper reported voters as saying that their voting stations had been moved in Maracaibo without their knowledge.

5. Lack of international recognition

Leaders across the Americas have received the announcement of Maduro’s victory with scepticism.

While the leaders of Peru, Chile, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Argentina, and Uruguay, either denounced the results or expressed scepticism, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Joe Biden administration had “serious concerns that the result announced does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people”.

“It’s 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 the electoral authorities publish the detailed tabulation of votes. The international community is watching this very closely and will respond accordingly,” said Blinken, as per AFP.

The British Foreign Office said it was “concerned” by allegations of “irregularities” in the election.

“We call for the swift and transparent publication of full, detailed results to ensure that the outcome reflects the votes of the Venezuelan people,” the foreign office said in a statement," said the Foreign Office.

European nations also sought transparency in the election and expressed scepticism as the result showed Maduro victorious.

“The people of Venezuela voted on the future of their country peacefully and in large numbers. Their will must be respected. Ensuring full transparency in the electoral process, including detailed counting of votes and access to voting records at polling stations, is vital,” said the European Union (EU) foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell.

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said the result should be published such that it can be verified.

“What we want is total transparency in the process. And that is why what we are asking for, and what we also expect, is the publication of the results voting table by voting table, so that we can verify the results,” said Albares.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he was “perplexed” by Maduro’s victory.

Tajani said, “We want the results to be verified with access to documents: the results announcing Maduro’s victory, does it really mirror the will of the people.”