Over 600 international election observers have been in Venezuela monitoring the election, including the Morning Star’s campaigns manager, Calvin Tucker.
“Although there were 10 candidates on the ballot paper, this election was a straight fight between an energetic 61-year-old President Maduro of the governing PSUV socialist party and the US-backed candidate, a frail 74-year-old former diplomat Edmundo González.
“The final days of the campaign were marked by large rallies addressed by the candidates. One hundred thousand Gonzalez supporters, many dressed in white t-shirts, gathered in the opposition’s middle-class stronghold in eastern Caracas on Thursday, whilst on the same day, up to a million working-class Chavistas flooded the western part of the city in a huge show of force.
“With both sides having continually pointed to opinion polls showing their candidate ahead in the race, the result of the election in the end seems to have come down to which side was best able to mobilise its supporters on the day.
On this occasion, as it has done historically, this has favoured Chavismo, whose support is concentrated in the city barrios and rural areas where poorer Venezuelans live.
“All election observers I have spoken to have expressed absolute confidence in the security of the computerised voting process, which is backed by paper ballot receipts signed off by witnesses from all parties contesting the election.
“But despite providing no evidence of electoral fraud, the United States, the UK and the Western media have indicated throughout that the only result they will accept is victory for Gonzalez and defeat for Maduro.
Now they are again refusing to accept Venezuela’s right to self-determination.
Bellicose statements from the US and its allies now suggest sanctions will be maintained and intensified, effectively punishing Venezuelans for voting the ‘wrong way.’
“ Defeat for the right-wing opposition in previous elections has led to violence and coup attempts, including the burning alive of Chavistas in the streets. We must hope that this time peace prevails.”