Nicolas Maduro has been elected President of Venezuela. Maduro won by 1.6%, a 235,000 vote lead over Henrique Capriles of the right-wing M.U.D alliance.

Turnout was again very high, at 79%. Sunday’s vote was Venezuela’s 17th election in the past 14 years. That is more sets of elections than were held than in the previous 40 years following the restoration of democracy in Venezuela in 1958

The election was monitored by 150 international witnesses including delegations from the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR, a body similar to the EU in Latin America), the Carter Centre and the Inter American Union of Electoral Councils.

In recent years, all of Venezuela’s elections have been declared free and fair by a range of international bodies including the EU, Organisation of America States and Carter Centre. Last year Nobel Prize winner Jimmy Carter called Venezuela’s process: “the best in the world”.

Observers to the elections from Britain included Neil Findley, a Member of the Scottish Parliament who said: “From the opening of the polls this morning, we have observed a very efficient, secure and sophisticated electoral system. The people of all parties who we spoke to praised the way the election was run and raised no concerns. The poll was free, fair and robust”.

Observer Adrian Weir, Assistant Chief of Staff at Unite the Union, Europe’s largest union said: “Nothing I have seen suggests anything other than a Nicolas Maduro win. The ballot was free and fair. The count was equally transparent and signed off by party witnesses including those of the Caprile’s coalition, the M.U.D. I’ve witnessed a robust system”

Andy de La Tour, actor and screenwriter, said: “The international observers are satisfied that the election has been free, fair and transparent. Voting went smoothly and the opposition witnesses in the polling stations told us they that they were satisfied that the voting had been fair.”

The results were announced by the National Electoral Council, the independent branch of state that oversees elections in Venezuela. Trust in this institution has been so great in Venezuela that last year the right-wing M.U.D coalition asked the CNE to oversee its own primaries to choose its Presidential candidate then. After the primary, that saw Henrique Capriles selected, his M.U.D alliance described the CNE’s role in those elections as “an excellent indication of the democratic institutions in the country”. Furthermore, the CNE organised the elections last December that saw Henrique Capriles himself elected as a state governor.

The results will now be subject to a post-audit where 54% of the paper receipts the voters received after voting will be checked against the electronic results. This is much higher than in other systems where the samples are often less than 5%. But with Venezuela’s electronic voting system described as the most robust in the world it is not thought that the audit will change the outcome. The Carter Centre, a world leader in voter monitoring, has called Venezuela’s electronic system “the most comprehensive… in the world”. Its Director said of the post electoral audits that it had “never had any significant discrepancy between the paper receipts and the electronic votes.” The Economist magazine – normally hostile to many of the policies of the Chávez led governments – said last year that Venezuela’s voting machines “are the most advanced”.

However despite all these endorsements of Venezuela’s robust and independent electoral system, and in the face of a third electoral defeat in three months, Capriles right-wing coalition has resorted to the old tricks of rejecting the elections results and disregarding the will of the people in an orchestrated attempt to discredit the outcome and to seek to isolate Venezuela internationally.

In response Francisco Dominguez, VSC Secretary, said:

“Once again, Venezuela has shown to the world that it has a vibrant and healthy democracy where both sides can air their views.

Capriles and his M.U.D coalition should accept that the people have again given their verdict. When the results go the opposition’s way they quickly accept them, as Capriles did when he was elected as a state governor just last December. But when they lose they often reject them. That is not a serious approach to democracy. Capriles and his allies should respect the will of the people.

Government’s around the world should accept the results, call on the Capriles to accept the result and certainly should avoid giving Capriles any encouragement to disregard the choice of the majority of Venezuelans.”

from Venezuela Solidarity Campaign