Venezuela: un responsable américain affirme que l’opposition a gagné la présidentielle - RFI
▻https://www.rfi.fr/fr/en-bref/20240801-venezuela-un-responsable-am%C3%A9ricain-affirme-que-l-opposition-a-gagn
Le chef de la diplomatie américaine pour l’Amérique latine, Brian Nichols, a déclaré mercredi 31 juillet que le candidat de l’opposition au Venezuela, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, avait « clairement » battu le président sortant Nicolás Maduro, sous pression internationale pour justifier de sa réélection contestée. Le sous-secrétaire d’État américain chargé de l’Amérique latine a ajouté lors d’un discours devant l’Organisation des États américains (OEA) que l’écart se comptait même en « millions de voix » et prouvait une victoire « irréfutable », validant des décomptes relayés par des organisations de la société civile et l’opposition.
En même temps comme dirait l’autre :
▻https://www.mintpressnews.com/venezuela-while-us-politicians-call-fraud-american-election-observers-endorse-results/288010
(...) Statements like these completely contrast the accounts and testimonies of dozens of American electoral observers in Venezuela, many of whom spoke with MintPress News.
“I don’t agree with Marco Rubio,” said Wyatt Souers, a representative of the International People’s Assembly, explaining that:
The U.S. has tried to destabilize and undermine the legitimacy of basically every Venezuelan election in recent memory. Ahead of the election, they always put out statements and media pieces, declaring the election a fraud before it even happens. But what we have witnessed this week is tons of support for the Maduro government amongst the people here.”
Souers visited several polling stations in the Caracas area and noted that turnout was “massive”, with hundreds of people inside the voting stations at any given time.
We got to go in and see the voting process. Everything was happening according to protocol. And so, I would say it seems like these elections are legitimate, and we fully support the right of the Venezuelan people to determine their own future.”
Roger D. Harris, an observer from Task Force on the Americas, spent the day observing electoral centers in Miranda State. He and others told MintPress that opposition supporters were perfectly happy to publicly announce their allegiances and express their grievances with the government. Despite their opposition to socialism, most retained confidence in the electoral system. As Harris noted:
I spoke to a person who is voting against Maduro, a professional who studied psychology in San Francisco. She was hopeful for change. But what was very significant was that she thought that the electoral process is free and fair. Overall, our impression of going to the various polling places was that people were very welcoming to us international observers, and were very proud to be out there voting for their country.”
No Comparison with the US
Many U.S. observers who spoke with MintPress were quick to compare the Venezuelan system favorably with their own. “I am actually kind of blown away by how advanced this system is, particularly compared to the backward nature of the U.S., so I am completely impressed,” Jodi Dean, a professor and political scientist, said.
“We witnessed several polling stations, and we did not see any irregularities or anything that would point to any type of fraud or illegitimacy. The voting process here is much more rigorous than in the United States,” Souers told MintPress. “They have a very good process here.”
Elizabeth Burley, a representative of Unión de Vecinos, a Los Angeles tenants’ union, spent election day monitoring voting in La Guaira state and noted a number of superior features of Venezuelan democracy, including that the polling system is automated and completely consistent between localities. Furthermore, she said, Venezuelan elections are held on Sunday rather than midweek as they are in the U.S., allowing more people to participate. Burley noted that she was able to go inside stations and observe everything and that there were witnesses from both government and opposition parties present. Apart from a few verbal exchanges between left and right-wing voters, she said, events proceeded in a state of calm.
MintPress, however, witnessed a crowd of over 100 opposition supporters arrive at a voting center in central Caracas at 6 pm, attempting to force polling stations to close exactly on time. The crowd tried to block latecomers from voting but without success. One opposition supporter blocking the door said, “Nobody should be allowed to vote unless they are from our side.”
