JOINT STATEMENT-South African Election Observers Condemn and Dispel Allegations of a Fraudulent Electoral Process in Venezuela. Voting Has Been Free, Fair & Transparent

July 29, 2024

Over 15 South African election observers are currently in Caracas, as part of a total of 910 observers from more than 95 countries. They are in the Latin American country to oversee the presidential elections taking place Sunday, 28 July 2024.

The observers belong to, among others, the ANC, SACP, COSATU, CONTRALESA, SASUVE, Royal House of Mandela and Abahlali Basemjondolo. They were invited and hosted by their relevant counterparts such as the Governing party of Venezuela, the Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV).

The observers condemn and dispel allegations of fraud by the Reuters media group reporting on the elections taking place in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela without actually being present. Claims or allegations of fraud have been found to be baseless and mischievous with Venezuela’s electoral system considered one of the best in the world.

No matter who the people of Venezuela vote for in these elections (the incumbent President, Nicolas Maduro, or one of the other candidates), the fact is that international election observers, that include South Africans, have witnessed a free and fair process. The people of Venezuela, like all other sovereign nations, have the right to elect whomever they so wish without outside interference. 

The Presidential Elections in Venezuela started smoothly and were incident-free throughout the day. The people of Venezuela should be commended for turning up in large numbers from as early as 05h00. The Consejo Nacional Electoral (CNE) is also commended for making sure that sufficient infrastructure was provided for a smooth voting day. In addition, it should be positively noted that where required by electoral officials, the Government of Venezuela provided the necessary logistics to ensure elections are held under peaceful conditions. 

Observers from 100 countries, including several African nations, have been spending the day at various polling stations in all 23 states across the country. South African observers have noted the efficiency, transparency, and fairness of Venezuela’s elections and look forward to the outcome.

More than 21,3 million Venezuelans are eligible to vote in this year’s Presidential elections. There are 16,025 voting stations across the country that use state-of-the-art biometric voting machines. These voting machines have a paper ballot backup system that runs concurrently, with an audit that takes place immediately after the elections. The audit is done publicly and takes place on 54% of all voting machines. Venezuelans will be electing a president from a total of 10 candidates, that includes the incumbent, President Nicholas Maduro. We welcome President Nicolás Maduro’s commitment to recognise the presidential election result regardless of the outcome. We urge other candidates to also publicly declare the same.

All political parties witness the sign-off on results at voting centres, and each party has to enter its unique encrypted key to validate the final tally. We, with other international observers, await the official results that can only, according to Venezuelan law, be announced by the Consejo Nacional Electoral (CNE) processes. This and not any announcement by a party, members of the media, or foreign country can be considered the official outcome.

This statement has been issued by the following South Africans who, among others, are currently present in Venezuela for the elections:

Solly Phetoe

General Secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU)

Obed Bapela

NEC Member and Deputy Chairperson of the International Relations Sub Committee of the African National Congress (ANC)

Madala Masuku

1st Deputy General Secretary of the South African Communist Party (SACP)

Zolani Mkiva

Secretary General of the Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (Contralesa) and South African Solidarity Union of Venezuela (SASUVE)

Chief Zwelivelile Mandla Mandela

Royal House of Mandela 

Muhammed Moosa Desai

Director of A4P

Mabongi Bobo Shoba

Deputy Chairperson of Abahlali Basemjondolo Womens League

To arrange media engagements with any of the above people, please contact Khulekani Skosana [+27 (0) 82 346 7959 – WhatsApp only] or Muhammed Desai [+27 (0) 84 211 9988]

Amandla!