More than two months after the passing of a 30-day legal deadline, Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) has still not published the full results of the July 28 presidential election.
Despite this, the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) rejected an appeal on November 4 calling on it to request the CNE comply with Article 155 of the Organic Law of Electoral Processes and the TSJ’s own August 22 ruling that the electoral body “publish definitive results for the electoral process”.
Instead, the TSJ fined María Alejandra Díaz, the lawyer who lodged the appeal on behalf of various left-wing organisations, and suspended her from professional duties.
According to the CNE, incumbent president Nicolás Maduro won the presidential election with more than 51% of the votes. However, the right-wing opposition has disputed the result, claiming alleged voting centre tally sheets in its possession indicate victory for its candidate, Edmundo González.
Given conflicting claims, publication of the results is required to verify who won.
CNE head Elvis Amoroso promised to do just that on election night, saying this would happen “in the next few hours, as has traditionally occurred” and “in accordance with the law”.
But more than three months on, the CNE’s failure to do so led to the Popular Democratic Front (FDP) lodging its appeal.
The FDP includes left-wing parties and organisations such as Redes, the Popular Historic Bloc, the Communist Party of Venezuela, The Other Campaign, Anti-imperialist Voices, Alternative Popular Movement, In Common and the National Front of Working Class Struggle.
Former presidential candidate Enrique Márquez, who also co-signed the appeal, explained in a November 3 Televen interview that its purpose was to request that the TSJ “demand the CNE publish the results so that not only I as a candidate, but the people can know exactly what occurred”.
He added that “perhaps no one should be more interested in this happening than the government itself, as it would generate clarity about the results, [and] clarity about its own legitimacy based on those results.
“But so far that has not happened. All this does is generate more and more doubts.”
The TSJ instead ruled that by lodging the appeal, Díaz was “questioning and disrespecting the power vested” in the TSJ and “seeking to generate anxiety and commotion in the population”.
As a result, a disciplinary procedure has been opened up against the former legal adviser to the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela, with the threat of further punishment hanging over her head.
Díaz denounced the court’s decision in a post on X as “not only an abuse of power, but an overreach and a clear warning to those wanting to exercise their political rights…
“Who will now want to defend political and social causes such as this, if they face such punishment?”
Numerous organisations and individuals have come out in defence of Díaz, including left-wing human rights organisation Surgentes.
In their statement, Surgentes notes that if anyone has been “responsible for generating anxiety and commotion” it has been the CNE “by not publishing the full electoral results and failing to fulfil its legal obligations of transparency and auditability”.
It added the state as a whole was also culpable, for continuing to “insist that the population accept a government that cannot demonstrate that it was elected by a majority [of voters]”.
The decision by the TSJ to reject the appeal is just one of the latest actions taken by the Venezuelan state to repress those who have dared to question Maduro’s victory.
For example, the National Assembly is currently discussing proposed reforms to the electoral system that, according to interior minister Diosdado Cabello, would ban anyone “who does not recognise the results announced by the [CNE]” from being able to participate in elections.
Meanwhile, about 2000 people remain in jail after being arrested during the wave of post-election protests demanding that the people’s vote be respected.
The majority of those in jail, which includes 69 adolescents, hail from poor working-class areas that traditionally voted for Maduro. Most are facing charges of “terrorism” and “inciting hate”.
According to Marquez, this is “the largest number of political prisoners in the entire history of Venezuela. Even if we go back to the time of [military dictator Marco] Pérez Jiménez, there were not as many prisoners…
“This is how the government intends to lead our country, through terror [and] by force.”
Marquez explained: “Those who have been imprisoned have had all their rights violated, they are not allowed visits, they are not allowed to have a private lawyer, they are not allowed the right to a defence, access to the judge is by telephone.
“Imagine a hearing … being held by telephone, where the accused is not even allowed an appearance before the judge.
“Not only are the rights established in the Constitution being violated, but everything established in the Organic Code of Criminal Procedure is being violated. These people are wrongly imprisoned and should be released as soon as possible.”