For over a year, great expectations had been aroused in some quarters that elections in Venezuela would have been free and fair, after the Maduro government and a group of opposition parties known as the Unitary Platform had signed, on 17 October, the “Barbados Agreement” that encapsulated a menu of measures addressing concerns arising out of the massively-rigged 2018 elections.
The world at large – but Venezuela’s neighbours in particular – had been concerned because of massive refugee waves unleashed across their borders, as almost 8 million Venezuelans – one quarter of the population – fled the hardships and repression precipitated by the Maduro dictatorship.
Our interest, of course, was even more focused than with the 60,000 refugees/migrants now in our country; seeing that Maduro had for years exploited their border controversy that claimed our Essequibo in order to whip up support in a “rally round the flag” ploy.
The Barbados Agreement, of course, was traduced from the beginning, and it should have surprised few when the elections – eventually scheduled for July 28 – became mired in controversy. Even though the candidate of the Unitary Platform, Maria Machado, was disqualified by the Elections Committee (CNE), her nondescript replacement, Edmundo Gonzales, still won handily.
Maduro, of course, claimed a third turn at the helm when the CNE that he controlled announced he was the winner – but without providing the proof of the tally sheets that are produced by each of the voting machines and provided to the CNE and representatives of the contesting political parties.
The Opposition Unitary Platform, however, had collected 83% of the tally sheets, and loaded them onto a website to prove their claim. A month after the elections, the CNE still has not provided any proof of its claim that Maduro is the winner. The latter requested that the Supreme Court – which Maduro also controls – validate the result, which it promptly did. Again, no proof was proffered.
Russia, China, Iran, and St Vincent – all allies of Venezuela – immediately accepted Maduro as president; but the US, Brazil, and Colombia asked that proof be provided. Last week, ten Latin American countries – Argentina, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic, and Uruguay – joined the US and eleven other countries to call for an “impartial and independent audit” of the vote. Guyana and Suriname were the only Caricom countries that joined the call, while the others congratulated Maduro. The Biden Administration, through the US Ambassador to Guyana, announced that the US was very disappointed at this move by Caricom.
While, as expected, realpolitik dictates that the US and other countries would have their own interests when evaluating the Venezuelan situation, there should be no question that Guyana must take a firm stance for democracy in Venezuela, not least because hostile relations between democratic nations are less likely to descend into war. And it is war that Maduro has declared against us with his purported “annexation” of Essequibo, which he authorised through an Act of his parliament.
While the strategic culture of Venezuela encourages a bi-partisan stance on the border controversy, Machado is on record as supporting the World Court in adjudicating on the matter. “The controversy is being resolved at the level of the ICJ. Regardless of whether we like it or not, that is where it is, and Venezuela has already acted; therefore, it cannot ignore it. The court is going to issue a verdict that is mandatory for us to comply with,” she stated.
We have to also ratchet up our diplomatic engagement with Caricom in general and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) – Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines – in particular. The latter has issued a joint statement in support of the re-election of President Nicolás Maduro. “We congratulate President Nicolás Maduro Moros on his victory and re-election to the Presidency of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela for a third term, and urge that every effort be made towards national reconciliation.”
While we have been stressing a regional strategy in deploying our oil wealth – towards food security, for instance – we will have to demand pro quid quos or our own larger security interests.
