Maduro calls concern about transparency in elections in Venezuela a “circus”

The President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, this Monday (1st), classified as a “circus” the concern of other countries with the reliability and transparency of the Venezuelan elections scheduled for July 28th. The speech was during a state TV program, called Maduro+.

“The circus has started, the campaign has started, there is nervousness in Washington, (…), there is nervousness on the regional right, stop being nervous”, said the Venezuelan leader during the weekly television broadcast.

Also according to Maduro, Venezuela has one of the most reliable, transparent and audited electoral systems in the world. He accused the United States of leading what he called a campaign to delegitimize the Venezuelan voting system.

“In Venezuela, there will be free, verified, guaranteed elections and that’s final,” Maduro reinforced to applause during the television program.

International concern

Countries such as the United States, Colombia and Brazil itself expressed concern about the development of the pre-election process in Venezuela after an opponent of Maduro was unable to register as a candidate in the vote.

Corina Yoris, representative of the largest bloc opposing the government, reported that she was prevented from presenting her candidacy virtually and that she was unable to register, even going in person to the country's National Electoral Council. She had been nominated for the dispute by María Corina Machado, who was disqualified from the election by the courts.

With the obstacles to opponents, the Brazilian government issued a note expressing concern about the election after the deadline for registering candidates had passed. According to the Itamaraty note, the impediment to Yoris' candidacy “is not compatible with the Barbados Agreement”. It was a reference to the agreement signed last year and which establishes political guarantees for free elections in Venezuela.

The Venezuelans responded to Brazil by saying that the note from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs appeared to have been “dictated” by the United States.

Also in March, a UN mission concluded that there had been a reactivation of political repression against Maduro's opponents in Venezuela, with arbitrary arrests and disappearances. According to the United Nations, the government was responsible for creating a “climate of fear”. The Miraflores Palace, headquarters of the Venezuelan presidency, said the UN allegations were unfounded.