Events in Venezuela are 'a tragedy for democracy': Swedish Bar Association ex-secretary general
Venezuela is in political turmoil following a disputed presidential election tainted by allegations of fraud and repression. The July election, in which President Nicolás Maduro pursued a third term, has been widely contested both domestically and internationally.
The Maduro government recently cracked down on civil society and political opposition, including by preventing an opposition leader from running for office and imposing strict restrictions on voters abroad, which effectively disenfranchised millions, said an article by the International Bar Association (IBA).
While exit polls predicted a decisive victory for opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, the National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner with 51 percent of votes. Gonzalez, according to the electoral council, received 44 percent, said the IBA in its article.
The opposition quickly challenged these results and presented evidence from over 80 percent of polling station tally sheets, which indicated that Gonzalez had gotten 67 percent of votes, while Maduro obtained slightly over 30 percent, the article said. Reports circulated about voting irregularities, including sudden changes to polling locations.
Protests erupted across the country, with demonstrators calling for Maduro to step down, the article stated. The electoral council, under government supervision, faced pressure to publish detailed polling information. Maduro attributed the electoral council’s delay in action to a hack of its website and said that it would eventually release this data.
In response to the controversy, Maduro requested that Venezuela's Supreme Court audit the election results. The international community criticized this move in light of its perception of the court’s close ties to the administration, the article said.
Human rights organization Foro Penal reported that over 1,500 people were detained and at least 24 were killed in the clashes following the results, noted the IBA in its article. Security forces allegedly targeted opposition activists challenging the results.
“The rule of law in Venezuela has turned into the rule of the jungle,” said Anne Ramberg, co-chairwoman of the IBA’s Human Rights Institute Council and former secretary general of the Swedish Bar Association, in the article.
Ramberg characterized the recent events in Venezuela as an illustration of continuing democratic backsliding and “a tragedy for democracy, the rule of law and consequently for human rights.”
Luz Nagle – co-vice chairwoman of the IBA Human Rights Law Committee and emeritus professor at the Stetson University College of Law in Florida – called for the international community to denounce the election results without an independent verification.
“The US, Europe, the UN, and the Organization of American States need to have a united message of rejection, condemnation and action,” said Nagle in the IBA’s article.
The election did not comply with international standards of electoral integrity, the U.S.-based Carter Center said. A United Nations panel criticized the vote for lacking fundamental transparency and integrity measures, the article noted.
Tamara Taraciuk Broner – director of the Peter D Bell Rule of Law Program at the Inter-American Dialogue – decried the extent and flagrancy of the electoral fraud, with not even a pretense of democracy.
“Venezuela is at a juncture right now,” said Broner, who was born in the country, in the IBA’s article. “It can become a Nicaragua or a North Korea in South America.”
