More than 130 international observers oversee the election in different parts of Venezuela. Most observers are from the European Union. He took cognizance of electoral conditions in the country such as fairness in elections, media outreach, campaign activity and disqualification of candidates. The electoral system in Venezuela has long been in a shambles and their presence was intended to instill confidence in voters, yet a large number of people did not leave their homes to vote.
Of the supervisors’ work, hospital staffer Pedro Martinez (56) said, “It gave me some confidence that they respect our franchise and our vote.”
He said only a small number of people queued up at a polling station in the eastern Caracas region because it usually casts votes against President Nicolas Maduro and his allies. On the other hand, the leaders of the opposition party ‘keep fighting among themselves’.
In this election, more than 21 million people are eligible to vote in more than 3,000 seats, including 23 governors, 335 mayors. There are 70,000 candidates in the fray.
Historically, the turnout for state and municipal elections has been low. Regional elections are usually not talked about outside the country’s borders, but Sunday’s election was different as the move by the Maduro government was widely discussed internationally.
Maduro holds a majority in the National Assembly and in May added two notable opponents to the Assembly as members led by the National Electoral Council. There was also an activist in this who has also gone to jail for destabilizing the government. It is the first time since 2005 that Venezuela’s five-member electoral body has more than one opposition member.
AP Sneha Shahid
Shahid
,