US accuses Maduro regime of manipulating Venezuelan elections

Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticizes the regional and municipal elections held in Venezuela on November 21.

“The Maduro regime deprived Venezuelans yet again of their right to participate in a free and fair electoral process, during Venezuela’s November 21 regional and local elections,” said Blinken in a press statement.

Blinken claims the regime manipulated the results before the elections even started. “Fearful of the voice and vote of Venezuelans, the regime grossly skewed the process to determine the result of this election long before any ballots had been cast,” he said.

There are arbitrary arrests and harassment against political opponents and civil society, he continued. Blinken also emphazised the criminalization of the activities of the opposition, voter manipulation, media censorship, and other tactics that he described as authoritarian.

These tactics “all but quashed political pluralism and ensured the elections would not reflect the will of the Venezuelan people,” continues the press statement.

The United States supports the reestablishment of democracy in Venezuela, reiterated the Secretary of State.

“The United States supports the people of Venezuela in their desire for a peaceful restoration of democracy through free and fair elections, with full respect for freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly,” he said.

Blinken congraturaled those who decided to participate in the elections despite the flaws in the system and the manipluations by the Chavista regime.

“We commend the political parties and candidates as well as voters who decided to participate in this process despite its flaws to preserve and fight for much-needed democratic space.  But that space is limited by Maduro’s efforts to divide and suppress Venezuela’s democratic actors,” reads the statement.

Finalmente, Blinken explica que, al arrestar a más de 250 personas por motivos políticos, negar a los venezolanos su derecho a elegir a sus propios líderes y restringir el acceso de los medios de comunicación, “Maduro les roba a los venezolanos la oportunidad de dar forma a su propio futuro”.

Blinken concludes by claiming that “Maduro robs Venezuelans of their chance to shape their own future.”

The president of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Pedro Calzadilla, announced that the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) won 20 of the 23 governor elections, including the capital. The opposition only won in the states of Cojedes, Nueva Esparta, and Zulia.

The CNE reported a voter turnout of 8,151,793 voters or 41.80 percent. Close to 58 percent of the population did not vote.