International Electoral Accompaniment Missions Declare May 20 Elections Free and Fair
Read the four reports from the electoral accompaniment mission in full here.
The more than 150 members of the international electoral accompaniment mission for the presidential and state legislative council elections held this past May 20 have published their four independent reports.
Members include politicians, electoral experts, academics, journalists, social movement leaders and others.
General Report
This is the report written by the mission as a whole, which includes representatives from countries such as Russia, Palestine, China, Spain, UK, Ireland, USA, Australia, Syria, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, the Philippines, Indonesia, France, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Bolivia, Uruguay, Chile, Surinam, Paraguay, Colombia, and Peru.
We the international accompaniers consider that the technical and professional trustworthiness and independence of the National Electoral Council of Venezuela are uncontestable.
Regarding the issue of the “red points,” (party political logistical points which opposition figures who has failed to recognize the electoral results claim influenced voters), the report states that:
Tents set up in support of political parties, known as “Red Points”, were located within no less than 200 meters from the polling stations we visited, as stipulated in the Agreement on Voting Assurances subscribed by the Government and the Opposition.
Read the full General Report here.
CEELA Report
The Council of Electoral Experts of Latin America (CEELA) is a grouping of electoral technicians from across the continent, many of whom have presided over electoral agencies.
The process was successfully carried out and that the will of the citizens, freely expressed in ballot boxes, was respected…the results communicated by the National Electoral Council reflect the will of the voters who decided to participate in the electoral process.
The CEELA accompanied not just the day of elections of May 20, but each and every one of the thirteen audits which the National Electoral Council (CNE) carried out prior to and posterior to it.
From the technical – electoral point of view, which characterizes the nature and experience of CEELA members, we have to highlight that in this process, the electoral authority lead by the CNE offered again all guarantees to the political organizations, groups of voters and citizens in general, through the development of the different audit activities that provided elements of reliability and security.
Read the full CEELA Report here.
African Report
The African countries invited to Venezuela this May included Tunisia, South Africa, Ghana, Congo, Nigeria and for the first time, the African Union. This report is also signed by Anthony Witherspoon, president of the Association of Afro-American Mayors of the state of Mississippi, USA, as part of the African Diaspora.
Our general evaluation is that this was a fair, free, and transparent expression of the human right to vote and participate in the electoral process by the Venezuelan people, and that the results announced on the night of May 20 are trustworthy due to the comprehensive guarantees, audits, the high tech nature of the electoral process, and due to the thirteen audits carried out previous to and on the day of elections which we witnessed.
We can also conclude that the Venezuelan people who chose to participate in the electoral process of May 20 were not subject to any external pressures.
As such, we implore the international community to abide by international law and the principals of self-determination and recognize what we consider to be a free, fair, fully transparent, and sovereign election carried out in Venezuela this past May 20.
Read the full African Report here.
Caribbean Report
Finally, there is a report elaborated by representatives from St Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and Grenada in representation of the Caribbean nations.
The mission was satisfied that the elections were conducted efficiently in a fair and transparent manner. All of the registered voters who wanted to exercise their right to vote participated in a peaceful and accommodating environment. Based on the process observed, the mission is satisfied that the results of the elections reflect the will of the majority of the voters in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
Read the full Caribbean Report here.