Venezuela’s National Elections Council (CNE) rushed on Monday, July 29, to proclaim Nicolas Maduro president for the next six years following presidential elections that had been hailed as among the most significant in the Americas in 2024. However, the election's legitimacy remains heavily disputed by opposition leaders, observation missions, and diplomatic envoys from the region.
In a swift and controversial move, the CNE declared Maduro the victor without publishing a single tally report on its website, a practice it had followed in almost every election since 2004. This unprecedented action has cast a shadow over the transparency and fairness of the entire election process. According to the initial bulletin issued early Monday morning, 80% of the tally reports had been processed at that time. If the CNE had already received this high percentage of the tally reports, why didn't they make them available on their website?
The CNE’s deviation from established transparency protocols marks a significant break from the practices it had followed since the onset of electoral automation nearly two decades ago. Since 2004, Venezuela had cultivated an electoral culture that included thorough audits before, during, and after the election.
Before these presidential elections, the CNE announced a series of 12 audits to ensure the election's legitimacy, but it failed to follow through. Essential processes to create a paper trail that would validate the results were omitted.
Unlike previous elections, where political actors received tally reports from every single voting machine and could compare these copies with the results published on the CNE website, this vital validation was not possible.
According to Omar Barboza, coordinator of the Unitary Platform, the opposition was denied copies of the voting records in nearly 70% of the voting centers on the night of the election. Additionally, 24 hours after announcing the results, the CNE had not published results by polling station, preventing political actors, observation missions, and the public from verifying the legitimacy of the declared results.
Once lauded by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter as “the best in the world,” Venezuela's voting system has seen a dramatic decline in credibility, particularly after the CNE severed ties with its long-time technology provider, Smartmatic. Under the current provider, Argentine-based ExCle, elections have become increasingly controversial, culminating in the latest election.
In 2020, the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned ExCle for assisting Nicolás Maduro in conducting fraudulent elections. ExCle is known for its close connections with key figures in the CNE and the regime.
The rushed proclamation of Maduro, coupled with the CNE’s departure from established protocols, has led to widespread skepticism and calls for a thorough investigation. The international community and Venezuelan citizens alike await further details to understand the full extent of the election's irregularities.
