CIVICUS discusses Venezuela’s recent election with Luz Mely Reyes, Director General of the Venezuelan digital media outlet Efecto Cocuyo. Founded in 2015 by a group of women journalists, Efecto Cocuyo began its journalistic work on Twitter. It is now an independent digital information platform that offers training for journalists and communications professionals, as well as fact-checking channels. Its team is part of CIVICUS’s Digital Democracy Initiative.
The 28 July presidential election was the first in many years where there seemed to be a real chance of a democratic transition. Despite successive bans of political leaders, the opposition united behind a single candidate. Even though the government denied a vote to most of the several million Venezuelans living in exile, exit polls pointed to a resounding opposition victory. However, the ruling party was quick to declare victory without providing any evidence. Hundreds of thousands took to the streets in protest while, for the first time, the Venezuelan government’s usual allies suspended recognition of the results until data was published. The outcome remains uncertain.
What were expectations for this election?
The main expectation was that it would lead to an orderly and negotiated transition. We expected the opposition candidate to emerge as the clear winner, but knew that the real challenge would be to get that victory recognised.
However, the reality has been very different from what was expected. The government has refused to present the results as required by law, raising serious doubts about their veracity and fuelling questions about the integrity of the electoral process. As evidence, the opposition presented all the actas – public documents issued by polling stations at the end of voting – it had access to. This lack of transparency led independent observers such as the Carter Center to dismiss the elections as undemocratic.
The government has responded with repression, setting up mobile phone apps to report protest hotspots and arresting large numbers of people, many of whom are effectively in a state of enforced disappearance, with their families unable to locate them. By 31 July, at least 16 people had been killed. This has pushed the prospect of a democratic transition further away.
How did the opposition and civil society monitor the election?
Human rights organisations and independent media carried out extensive monitoring of the electoral process, despite the fact that the National Electoral Council (CNE) refused to grant them official accreditation. These organisations carried out verifications in several regions of Venezuela to ensure that, at least on election day, minimum standards of free participation and the freedom of movement were respected. They identified a pattern of irregularities, which they then incorporated into their complaints about the performance of the CNE and the so-called Plan República, the military deployment during elections that has the stated aim of guaranteeing order and security.
Opposition political parties organised under the platform led by María Corina Machado, the main opposition leader and one of the politicians banned from standing as a presidential candidate. On election day, they observed the voting and carried out quick counts to estimate the results. They managed to obtain and digitise 80 per cent of the voting records, which they published on a public website to give transparency to the results, which were clearly in their favour.
What has the international reaction to the results been?
International reactions have been mixed and generally insufficient to resolve the situation.
One particularly important reaction was that of Chile’s left-wing president, Gabriel Boric, who declared on the night of the elections that lack of compliance with the rules made it difficult to verify the results and undermined trust in them. His statement prompted other governments to call for the detailed publication of the results in accordance with the law.
However, it seems the international community has not fully grasped the extent of the constitutional rupture and the destruction of institutions Venezuela has experienced. International reactions have been limited to demanding the publication of the results of voting records, rather than the full results as required by law. Further, the legal process for challenging the results before the CNE and the Supreme Court is practically useless, as both bodies have been co-opted by the executive.
Two days after the elections, in a nationally televised speech, President Nicolás Maduro threatened protesters and called on the leaders of all branches of government to validate the disputed results. He called protesters drug addicts and accused them of receiving bribes to take part in demonstrations. He also threatened to arrest Machado and opposition presidential candidate Edgardo González Urrutia, mentioning the possibility of imprisoning them for up to 15 years without due process. This reflects the lengths the government is prepared to go to and underlines the need for a stronger and more coordinated international response.
What are the possible scenarios?
All the possible scenarios are very complicated. The government has closed the only institutional avenue available to it, which was to recognise the election results. The lack of democratic institutions and the repression of the protests have deprived the opposition of the minimum room for manoeuvre. As well as arresting protesters and threatening opposition leaders, the government has broken diplomatic relations with five countries and harassed opposition leaders who have taken refuge in embassies.
In the face of this situation, civil society and independent media will have to focus on publishing information and telling people what is happening. Political parties will have to make strategic decisions to react to the government’s entrenchment in a more organised manner. Coordination and adaptation will be crucial to counter repression and find a way out of this crisis.
What needs to happen for Venezuela to move towards democracy?
To achieve change, democratic forces must unite in defence of the constitution and institutions, working closely with civil society organisations, which, despite many challenges, continue to play a crucial role. The international community must give them strong and coordinated support.
It is essential to keep channels of negotiation with the government open, and democratic leftist organisations could act as intermediaries. International human rights organisations should develop support plans for their counterparts in Venezuela and establish reception protocols for human rights defenders and journalists seeking refuge in other countries. There’s currently no recourse for Venezuelans to seek justice through domestic courts, particularly for politically motivated rights violations.
Civic space in Venezuela is rated ‘closed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor.
Get in touch with Efecto Cocuyo through its website or its Facebook and Instagram pages, and follow @EfectoCocuyo on Twitter.
