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Venezuela’s Maduro threatens to ban rivals from future elections Venezuela’s Maduro threatens to ban rivals from future elections
(about 3 hours later)
Venezuela’s ruling socialists triumphed in nearly all mayoral elections across the country, as President Nicolas Maduro threatened to ban opposition parties from future elections in the oil-rich country wracked by economic crisis. President Nicolás Maduro has threatened to disqualify major opposition parties from future elections in Venezuela after boycott-affected mayoral polls left him more dominant than at any time since he took power in 2013.
Hundreds of supporters shouted “Go Home, Donald Trump” to interrupt Maduro at a rally late on Sunday in the colonial centre of Caracas, where he announced that pro-government candidates had won more than 300 of the 335 mayoral offices. The ruling socialists won 300 of the 335 mayoral offices on Sunday as three of the four main opposition groups refused to participate, claiming the voting was rigged by a “dictator”.
Sunday’s voting marked the last nationwide elections before next year’s presidential race, when Maduro is expected to seek another term despite his unpopularity. Maduro, undaunted by widespread criticism that democracy is being eroded in the oil-rich country, said the opposition’s boycott would result in their electoral oblivion.
“The imperialists have tried to set fire to Venezuela to take our riches,” Maduro told the crowd. “We’ve defeated the American imperialists with our votes, our ideas, truths, reason and popular will.” “A party that has not participated today cannot participate any more,” the president said while casting his vote. “They will disappear from the political map.”
The elections played out as Venezuelans struggle with triple-digit inflation, shortages of food and medicine, and charges that Maduro’s government has undermined democracy by imprisoning dissidents and usurping the powers of the opposition-controlled national assembly. This raises concerns that voters may have a restricted choice in next year’s presidential election, when Maduro is expected to run again despite a dire economy, triple-digit inflation, one of the world’s highest murder rates and shortages of food and medicine.
Three of the four biggest opposition parties refused to take part in Sunday’s contests, protesting against what they called an electoral system rigged by a “dictator”. The last time the opposition refused to compete in congressional elections in 2005 it strengthened the government’s hand for years. The president’s ratings are low, but he has strengthened his position thanks to a mix of strong-arm government tactics – including arrests of political rivals – and a weak opposition that vacillates between engagement and disengagement with the electoral system.
After dropping his vote into the cardboard ballot box earlier in the day, Maduro responded to the boycott. “A party that has not participated today cannot participate any more,” he said. “They will disappear from the political map.” He has also been helped politically by Donald Trump’s escalation of sanctions on Venezuela and threat of military intervention, which have allowed Maduro to appeal to patriotic sentiment and blame the country’s economic woes on hostile foreign forces, even though the crises began several years ago.
This has been a turbulent year for Venezuela, which holds the world’s largest oil reserves but has been battered by low crude prices and a crash in production. Months of protests left more than 120 people dead earlier this year, and it faces US economic sanctions as it seeks to refinance a huge international debt. Since being routed by the opposition in legislative elections in 2015, the Venezuelan Socialist party (PSUV) government has sidelined Congress by creating the constituent national assembly. It has arrested opposition leaders and banned others from running. Street protests against these tactics have resulted in 46 deaths.
The struggles have caused the president’s approval rating to plunge, although the opposition has been largely unable to capitalise on Maduro’s unpopularity. With the opposition cowed and divided, the PSUV has this year won three elections – for the constituent assembly, governships and mayoralties – and now dominates the political landscape.
Maduro said the third electoral victory for the ruling party in little more than four months signalled that the socialist “Chavista” revolution begun by the late President Hugo Chavez had defeated opponents intent on fomenting violence in the country. “The imperialists have tried to set fire to Venezuela to take our riches,” Maduro told a chanting crowd after the latest victory on Sunday. “We’ve defeated the American imperialists with our votes, our ideas, truths, reason and popular will.”
In a country of 30 million people, 9 million cast ballots – about half of eligible voters. Maduro’s opponents questioned the figures on social media. The official turnout was about 47% of eligible voters. Maduro’s opponents in the three boycotting groups – Justice First, Popular Will and Democratic Action – cast doubt on the figures and said they were right not to take part because it would have legitimised a rigged ballot.
The mayoral elections follow a crushing defeat of opposition candidates in October’s gubernatorial elections, where anti-Maduro candidates won only five of 23 races amid allegations of official vote-buying and other irregularities. However, they have come under fire for backing away from the electoral process so close to a presidential race in which they are likely to struggle to unite behind a candidate.
Given the opposition’s disarray, political analysts said they doubted Maduro’s opponents would be able to rally behind a single candidate in next year’s presidential election. “These were absolutely predictable results,” the pollster Luis Vicente Leon said on Twitter. “It’s absurd to think that an abstaining political force can win the majority of mayorships.”
“These were absolutely predictable results,” local pollster Luis Vicente Leon said on Twitter. “It’s absurd to think that an abstaining political force can win the majority of mayorships.” With the price of oil – which accounts for 95% of Venezuela’s export earnings – up by a third over the past six months, Maduro is in a strong position to seek a second term, though the democratic options have rarely looked weaker.