We reject the manipulation of the result of the July 28 presidential election in Venezuela and repudiate the repression with which the regime of Nicolás Maduro has responded to those who refuse to accept the fraud.
The National Electoral Council (CNE) announced that the dictator obtained 5 million votes and, in an irregular manner, proclaimed him the winner of the process. However, candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia has copies of 73% of the voting tallies proving that he received more than 6 million votes in his favor. The CNE, which has been controlled by Maduro for years, has denied any kind of access to the original voting tallies. In addition, the regime issued arrest warrants against Edmundo Gonzalez, Maria Corina Machado and other political leaders, some of whom have already been unjustly deprived of their freedom; and launched a brutal repression against the population that has massively taken to the streets to peacefully demonstrate its repudiation of the fraud. There are, so far, 16 dead, 11 disappeared, 117 arbitrary detentions and hundreds of wounded.
This is not the first time that the Chavista regime commits electoral fraud, but it should be the last. Despite the fact that irregularities accompanied the entire electoral process, especially with the unjust disqualification of Machado’s candidacy, the Venezuelan people did not give in to violence and responded to these abuses with a large electoral turnout and expressed their will to regain their freedom. The members of Political Network for Values believe that the result of this mobilization must be respected with the effective support of the international community.
We demand that the CNE fulfill its obligation and make public the results of the election by giving access to all the original and unadulterated voting tallies, and that it carry out a public count with the presence of qualified independent international observers.
Several leaders of the Continent, of the most diverse political positions, have already expressed their rejection of fraud; but that is not enough, it is indispensable that all the resources at their disposal be used to prevent the true electoral result from being vulnerated. We consider that the Organization of American States (OAS) has a fundamental role to play in the articulation of these efforts and in the forceful application of the instruments with which it has been endowed.
We ask the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to monitor, closely accompany, document and denounce the flagrant violations of fundamental freedoms and guarantees that the Chavista regime is perpetrating against those who oppose the fraud.
Finally, we offer our full solidarity and support to the Venezuelan people and to all members of our Network in the beloved South American country. This is the moment in which all those who love and defend fundamental freedoms must contribute everything in their power to put an end to the long kidnapping that Venezuelans have suffered at the hands of a narco-dictatorship. The time of freedom has come for Venezuela.
Madrid, July 31, 2024.
