Paris, Caracas, 6 August 2024. The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and PROVEA denounce strong indicators of ongoing electoral fraud in Venezuela. Witnesses from the opposition and various international observers have confirmed that the CNE’s own copies of the voting machine results, which the body also has in its possession and received in its tallying room, show opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia to have won the election by 37 percentage points.
The proclamation of Nicolás Maduro’s victory coupled with the electoral authorities’ refusal to publish the electoral registers, the breakdown of votes by polling centre and polling station, as well as the absence of auditing procedures, are contrary to democratic norms.
Before and during the elections, PROVEA and other human rights organisations criticised the numerous tactics, manoeuvres and schemes aimed at altering the outcome of the elections: the arbitrary and unconstitutional prohibition of participation of candidates in the months leading up to the elections, the impediment of some 4.5 million Venezuelans abroad of their right to vote, the bias of the electoral authorities with constant attacks on the opposition candidate, the persecution of opponents and attacks on freedom of expression, the illegal closures or arrests of civilians for supporting campaign activities with at their homes or businesses, and the rejection of a European Union electoral observation mission.
Arrests, disappearances and killings amidst post-election violence
After the CNE declared a victory for Nicolás Maduro in the early hours of 29 July, thousands of people took to the streets in spontaneous protests that resulted in 915 demonstrations across the country.
The government responded with a brutal crackdown on protesters, which left some 22 people killed, with Maduro announcing that the number would reach 2,000 and declaring "there will be no forgiveness". Opposition and civil society organisations have also faced persecution for condemning fraud and attacks on protesters.
These acts of repression mirror systematic patterns of persecution previously perpetrated by the Venezuelan authorities. During the mass protests of 2017 and 2019, state security forces targeted a civilian population, causing a high number of killings, arrests and injuries. As a result, in December 2020, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) concluded that there was a reasonable basis to believe that crimes against humanity—including arbitrary detention, torture, rape and/or other forms of sexual violence and persecution—had been committed in Venezuela by civilian authorities, members of the armed forces, and individuals acting on behalf of the government.
FIDH and PROVEA urgently call on the international community to publicly and clearly demand the respect of the electoral results in Venezuela, as proven by the democratic opposition; international monitoring of the results; and the safeguarding of fundamental rights and respect for the lives of peaceful demonstrators. Likewise, FIDH and PROVEA alert the ICC Prosecutor, Karim Khan, to these new developments, which continue the Venezuelan government’s policy of persecution and repression, and which should be considered in the analysis of the ongoing investigation into alleged crimes against humanity.
The Venezuelan people, who have suffered the terrible consequences of Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian regime, have the legitimate right to raise their voices and take to the streets in defence of the transparency of their own electoral system and for the restoration of democracy. FIDH and PROVEA hope that Venezuela can embark on a process of transition to democracy with memory, justice and truth.