SACP Congratulates the People of Venezuela for Democratic Elections and President Nicolas Maduro for His Re-election as Venezuela's President
28 May 2018
The South African Communist Party notes with grave concern the misrepresentation of the outcomes of the Presidential Elections that took place in Venezuela on Sunday, 20 May 2018, by the United States of America, the European Union, Canada and their puppets in Latin America. The continued disrespect of the will of the people of Venezuela, who this month democratically re-elected Nicolas Maduro with a mandate of approximately 68 per cent as their President, is part of concerted efforts by the West to destabilise the Venezuelan government and to force regime change at all cost.
The SACP can attest to the falsity of these claims as it was directly represented in Venezuela during the elections process. In general, the pre-elections environment allowed for unrestricted campaigning and the actual day was peaceful and all political parties and citizens enjoyed freedom of movement and could freely engage with the media and the international observers. There were absolutely no visible signs of protests and despite the claims by anti-government forces, not even their own propagandists had any media footage of these "protesters" proving that these allegations are nothing but fabrications.
The observers were granted opportunities to meticulously scrutinise the voting process. The National Electoral Authority was professional and unbiased in the execution of their responsibilities. In addition to the general external observers, the performance of the National Electoral Authority was also formally monitored by official international elections monitors. The system, which is highly sophisticated and completely digitised, makes vote buying impossible. The superior automated voting system was complemented with manual mechanisms of control, which could easily be verified by Party Agents, who were present at every voting station, in the event of disputes. Any suggestions that the voting systems were flawed can be confidently disputed as scientifically baseless.
Lastly, it is rather disingenuous that these detractors argue that the elections are delegitimised due to the voter turn-out being slightly less than 50 percent. It must be noted that voting is not legislatively mandatory and that abstinence is also a democratic right. So while some of the voters might have chosen to abstain, a lower voter participation rate is not cause for alarm and definitely not justification for the dismissal of its outcomes. Even the so-called the most advanced democracies have had lower voter turn-outs. Donald Trump, the current President of the United States did not even win a national majority of vote - he lost it, yet he is the President. Switzerland for example in 2015 had a voter turnout of less than 40 percent. Hypocritically also, countries such as Chile and Columbia, who are amongst the most vocal critiques, have had lower voter turnouts.
The Venezuelan voter turnout is greater than that of a number of states criticising its level. It in fact has to be commended given that the country is under siege by imperialists. The economic and trade blockade imposed on Venezuela have significantly affected the living standards of Venezuelans and have made it difficult for those people who were outside of the country for economic reasons to travel. Considering the aggression and abnormality imposed on Venezuelans by imperialist forces led by the United States are bent on regime change, the people of Venezuela have demonstrated outstanding commitment to electoral democracy.
ISSUED BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN COMMUNIST PARTY | SACP
FOR GENERAL ENQUIRIES ON SACP STATEMENTS CONTACT:
Alex Mohubetswane Mashilo:
Head of Communications & National Spokesperson
Mobile: +27 76 316 9816
Skype: MashiloAM
CIRCULATION & MEDIA LIAISON SERVICES
Hlengiwe Nkonyane:
Communications Officer - Media Liaison Services, Digital and Social Media Co-ordinator
Mobile: +27 79 384 6550
OFFICE, WEBSITE, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, USTREAM TV CHANNEL
Office: +2711 339 3621/2
Twitter: SACP1921
Website: www.sacp.org.za
Facebook Page: South African Communist Party
SACP Ustream TV Channel: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/sacp-tv
The South African Communist Party notes with grave concern the misrepresentation of the outcomes of the Presidential Elections that took place in Venezuela on Sunday, 20 May 2018, by the United States of America, the European Union, Canada and their puppets in Latin America. The continued disrespect of the will of the people of Venezuela, who this month democratically re-elected Nicolas Maduro with a mandate of approximately 68 per cent as their President, is part of concerted efforts by the West to destabilise the Venezuelan government and to force regime change at all cost.
The SACP can attest to the falsity of these claims as it was directly represented in Venezuela during the elections process. In general, the pre-elections environment allowed for unrestricted campaigning and the actual day was peaceful and all political parties and citizens enjoyed freedom of movement and could freely engage with the media and the international observers. There were absolutely no visible signs of protests and despite the claims by anti-government forces, not even their own propagandists had any media footage of these "protesters" proving that these allegations are nothing but fabrications.
The observers were granted opportunities to meticulously scrutinise the voting process. The National Electoral Authority was professional and unbiased in the execution of their responsibilities. In addition to the general external observers, the performance of the National Electoral Authority was also formally monitored by official international elections monitors. The system, which is highly sophisticated and completely digitised, makes vote buying impossible. The superior automated voting system was complemented with manual mechanisms of control, which could easily be verified by Party Agents, who were present at every voting station, in the event of disputes. Any suggestions that the voting systems were flawed can be confidently disputed as scientifically baseless.
Lastly, it is rather disingenuous that these detractors argue that the elections are delegitimised due to the voter turn-out being slightly less than 50 percent. It must be noted that voting is not legislatively mandatory and that abstinence is also a democratic right. So while some of the voters might have chosen to abstain, a lower voter participation rate is not cause for alarm and definitely not justification for the dismissal of its outcomes. Even the so-called the most advanced democracies have had lower voter turn-outs. Donald Trump, the current President of the United States did not even win a national majority of vote - he lost it, yet he is the President. Switzerland for example in 2015 had a voter turnout of less than 40 percent. Hypocritically also, countries such as Chile and Columbia, who are amongst the most vocal critiques, have had lower voter turnouts.
The Venezuelan voter turnout is greater than that of a number of states criticising its level. It in fact has to be commended given that the country is under siege by imperialists. The economic and trade blockade imposed on Venezuela have significantly affected the living standards of Venezuelans and have made it difficult for those people who were outside of the country for economic reasons to travel. Considering the aggression and abnormality imposed on Venezuelans by imperialist forces led by the United States are bent on regime change, the people of Venezuela have demonstrated outstanding commitment to electoral democracy.
ISSUED BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN COMMUNIST PARTY | SACP
FOR GENERAL ENQUIRIES ON SACP STATEMENTS CONTACT:
Alex Mohubetswane Mashilo:
Head of Communications & National Spokesperson
Mobile: +27 76 316 9816
Skype: MashiloAM
CIRCULATION & MEDIA LIAISON SERVICES
Hlengiwe Nkonyane:
Communications Officer - Media Liaison Services, Digital and Social Media Co-ordinator
Mobile: +27 79 384 6550
OFFICE, WEBSITE, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, USTREAM TV CHANNEL
Office: +2711 339 3621/2
Twitter: SACP1921
Website: www.sacp.org.za
Facebook Page: South African Communist Party
SACP Ustream TV Channel: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/sacp-tv
No comments:
Post a Comment