Illegal presidential elections today in Venezuela
May 20, 2018
Many years of broken laws and rights have led to today. Democracy is gone in Venezuela and today's presidential elections are just another of the many frauds of the current "socialist" regime. Let's examine the many reasons why today's elections are a rigged political fraud.
The elections were convened by an illegal branch of the government (the ANC)
The Asamblea Nacional Constituyente (Constituent Assembly) is a branch that was illegally elected in 2017. Why illegally? While a Constituent Assembly could be elected in order to rewrite the constitution, it is established in the constitution and in our country's laws that there must be a previous election where people have the right to decide whether or not they want such a branch.
Instead, the government, led by Nicolas Maduro, decided to skip the first election step and went directly into the step of electing which people would be members of the ANC. Apart from that, those elections (illegally convened) were very shady and were already rigged. Read more (in Spanish) about why it's illegal here and why it was rigged here
Most opposition candidates were banned from participating in today's elections
Through the years, the Venezuelan government has been progressively barring politicians from participating as candidates in the various elections in the country.
Venezuelan hardliner María Corina Machado barred from public office
Opposition leaders Lopez and Ledezma sent to jail
For today's presidential election, most possible opposition candidates (that were not already jailed or barred) were barred from presenting themselves as presidential candidates. Not only were most possible opposition candidates barred, but most opposition parties were barred too. In fact, the biggest opposition coalition in the country, the MUD, was also barred.
How can we have fair elections when we can only choose from a pre-chosen bunch of corrupt-government-approved politicians?
Nicolas Maduro (current president) is not legally allowed to be president or to take part in today's elections.
The National Assembly, which is the legally elected Legislative Branch in Venezuela, determined on April 17 that there is enough reason to take Nicolas Maduro to court due to his many instances of corruption.
This decision legally binds the president to step down from the presidency and bars him from taking part in the May 20 elections. (Read more in Spanish)
Pro-government campaigning and urging beside voting centres
In Venezuela, it is illegal to campaign on the same day of the elections. It is also extra illegal to set up campaigning material (and even worse, to conduct campaign) beside the voting centres.
The government has set up what is called "puntos rojos" beside the voting centre where voters are urged to demonstrate that they voted today in order to get a government bonus of 10 million bolivars (10 minimum monthly salaries, or around 13 USD). Additionally, they phrase the urging in a way that makes voters think that they must vote for PSUV (socialist party currently in power) in order to get this money.
The existence of these "puntos rojos" is not only illegal by itself, but having them at close proximity to the voting centres is a big aggravating factor.
Smartmatic blew the whistle on 2017 election fraud, so the government fired Smartmatic and hired a new voting company
Venezuela has been praised over the years for its impregnable voting system. Many Venezuelans proudly boasted this fact. In 2017, however, the company that made this possible, Smartmatic, blew the whistle after the Constituent Assembly elections. They said that things were not being handled properly and that there was probably fraud in the elections.
What would be the proper solution? Revise the methods, redo the elections (which were illegally convened, as I explained earlier), etc.
What did the government do? They fired Smartmatic and hired a new voting company to handle the electoral system, the voting machines, the counting and auditing.
Very successful your publication of today, it is expected that after the election results, that is, already the result is told beforehand, because from the beginning the call to elections has been illegal, with expired institutions in their functions, with a opposition that does not help the people, because their desire for power; they are older
I do not know what can be done, after May 20, I think it will be the union of the opposition, if they can get the nation to believe them again
Indeed, the results are probably already decided. I'm not certain that the union will get their image back. I think that new institutions and names will have to arise for people to put their trust on them. The MUD and the AN have already betrayed our trust when they approved of the ANC.
As I wrote in my recent post: "an electoral process organized by people linked to the government, with candidates also linked to the government, it will not result in anything different from the interests of the government. The results that will be announced, will be results that those in power want it to be"
It is also important to realise that the government is intended to be divided into independent branches that have no ideological loyalty to each other and perform no proselytism or campaigning during the performance of their charges. This means that the CNE, which is and should be a part of the government, should not be formed by partial supporters of the current leader of the executive branch. Otherwise, elections will tend to be rigged toward this person.
The same happens with all other powers. The judicial branch (TSJ - Supreme Court) is constitutionally obliged to be neutral and unbiased. Yet, the illegal TSJ is currently formed by members of the socialist party, where they should not be members of any party or profess any loyalty toward any political party.
What we call the "government" here in Venezuela is what could otherwise be called the ruling class that controls all the branches where they should instead be independent. This condition makes it be the way you say. The results will always be whatever those in power want them to be.
Totally. I also wrote about that, but specifically about the CNE.
Something that seems sad to me is that, the Venezuelans and our mediocre political leadership, remained calm while they dismantled the rule of law. Most of the people did not understand the consequences of that. An executive power with absolute powers (it would no longer be the head of government but a dictatorship), without counterweights, will inevitably be corrupted in every way. Venezuelans ignore that for years and let the monster grow bigger and bigger until it becomes what it is today. We did not fight the battles we had to fight.
Where on earth is such done in this age. I think something is wrong in that place.
May they return to normalcy soon.
Hopefully, Venezuela will be able to return to normal. Already this town can not bear more misery, lack of medicines and lack of food.
what can i say? I feel sad about this situation in our country
Thanks for write about it, the world needs to know.
Yeap. We have to share this knowledge so that everyone realises that this is not a legitimate election process.
very interesting and sad to read when politics is corrupted and abused as it is there
Great news! One the world must to know! Thanks for sharing. Well done!
It's surprising how a bunch of people could become more poweeful than the President.
When all this was starting , what was done to prevent it from going this far? Apart from baring or Jailing
It's not that they are more powerful than the president. It's that they are all accomplices with the president in this massive takeover.
Woah! Okay, no wonder he is not legally authorise to participate by the legislature.
I kinda understood it differently, thanks for explaining
The legally elected National Assembly barred the president from participating due to corruption charges. But he's still participating and, in fact, won yesterday's elections, because they are not working according to the law. Instead most of the government branches are just doing whatever they want since a few years ago.
What a sad situation. It's reminds me of 1Timothy 3:1-5. In the Bible.
But when I think about it, I'm comforted by what I found at Daniel 2:44.
You should see those
Amanecera y veremos, como dicen nuestros abuelos.
Wow. I am very sorry for your people. A lot of people have suffered in Venezuela. It looks like relief is not in sight.