Governments in Latin America, the United States and Europe should spare no diplomatic efforts to protect the right to vote of Venezuelans ahead of the presidential election scheduled for July 28, 2024, Human Rights Watch said today. They should enhance their scrutiny of Venezuela before, during, and in the weeks following election day.
Arrests of opposition members, arbitrary disqualifications of opposition candidates, and efforts to further restrict civic space have severely marred the electoral process in Venezuela. The elections are taking place in a context ofyears of systematic human rights abuses by the government and a severe humanitarian crisis that has forced roughly eight million people to leave the country.
"While the election in Venezuela will hardly be free or fair, Venezuelans have their best chance in over a decade to elect their government, and the international community should have their back as they do," said Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. "The United States, Brazil, Colombia and the European Union should use all the diplomatic tools at their disposal to protect Venezuelans' right to vote."
On October 17, 2023, the Venezuelan opposition and the government signed the Barbados Agreement, in which they agreed to honor political parties' right to choose their presidential candidates and to hold the presidential election in the second half of 2024, among other electoral protections. The United States agreed to temporarily lift certain sanctions in exchange for a commitment to hold free and fair elections.
It also released Alex Saab, a Colombian businessman with close ties to the Nicolás Maduro's government in Venezuela who had been indicted for money laundering. However, as the Maduro government did not fully satisfy its commitments under the agreement, in January and April 2024 the United States re-established some of those sanctions.
The electoral process has been marred by human rights violations and irregularities that have kept the playing field uneven. The Supreme Court has imposed leaders who support the government on opposition parties, undermining the parties' autonomy. In late June 2023, the Comptroller General's Office announced that María Corina Machado, the leader of the opposition, was barred from running. In October 2023, she won a primary election organized by the opposition, with more than 90 percent of the vote. However, in January 2024, the Supreme Court upheld the decision to bar her, as well as Henrique Capriles, another opposition leader.
Machado then proposed professor Corina Yoris to run in her place, but the electoral authority did not allow her to register her candidacy. In March 2024, the electoral authority allowed Edmundo González, a former diplomat, to register as the opposition Unitary Platform nominee for president.
The government has repeatedly committed systematic human rights violations against critics and opposition leaders, Human Rights Watch said.
The pro-bono legal group Foro Penal reported that 114 people have been arrested in politically motivated cases in 2024; 102 are linked to Machado and González, and 77 of these arrests occurred after the beginning of the political campaign on July 4. Those arrested include 27 people who worked or volunteered for Machado's party, Vente Venezuela. Six other people have sought refuge in the Argentine embassy in Caracas, after authorities threatened to arrest them.
While González and Machado-who supports him-have for the most part been allowed to campaign, Venezuelan authorities have harassed people perceived as supporting them, including by reportedly closing or fining restaurants or hotels used by Machado and detaining people who provided logistical services such as sound equipment for her rallies.
On July 17, Maduro, who has been in power since 2013 and is running for re-election, said there would be a "bloodbath" in Venezuela if he lost.
Only a handful of international observers with limited capacity will be present during the elections. The Carter Center, one of them, said it "will not conduct a comprehensive assessment of the voting, counting, and tabulation processes." The UN will send an Electoral Technical Team, which will not issue public statements, and will produce a confidential report.
In May, the National Electoral Council withdrew an invitation to the European Union to observe the elections, a move that contradicted the Barbados Agreement. On July 17, in response to an invitation from the opposition, a group of European Parliament members agreed to send an accompanying electoral delegation to be present during the election day.
Foreign governments should follow the election closely and publicly condemn any additional steps to undermine the right to vote, including further arbitrary arrests and disqualifications, improper changes to ballots, and arbitrary government intervention in the functioning of opposition political parties.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres should remain attentive to the electoral process in Venezuela and be prepared to take further action based on reports from the Electoral Technical Team.
On July 22, President Luíz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brazil urged Maduro to recognize the election results. "I am frightened by Maduro's statement that if he loses the elections, there will be a bloodbath," Lula said in a media interview. "Maduro needs to learn that when you win, you stay; and when you lose, you leave-and prepare for the next election."
The governments of Presidents Gustavo Petro in Colombia and Lula in Brazil should use their access to the Venezuelan government to press for an end to the persecution of opposition leaders and supporters, to protect all voters' ability to vote, and make sure all votes are properly counted, Human Rights Watch said. They should encourage Venezuela's government to prevent violence and promote a fully rights-respecting electoral process.
The administration of US President Joe Biden should continue to use its leverage, including conditioned targeted sanctions, to promote respect for people's vote on election day and during the following weeks.
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, is conducting an investigation into crimes against humanity in Venezuela. The prosecutor should remind Venezuelan authorities that renewed repression that amounts to crimes within the court's jurisdiction could be subject to his investigation. The ICC is a court of last resort, stepping in only when national authorities are genuinely unwilling or unable to do so.
"Venezuelans have a narrow, but real, opportunity to make their voices heard," Goebertus said. "The international community has a key role to play in pressing for Venezuelan voters' rights to be protected, and their votes counted."
