The Human Rights Committee of the United Nations (UN) announced this Tuesday (3) the opening of a formal investigation into the fraud perpetrated by the dictator Nicolás Maduro in the presidential elections of July 28, 2024 in Venezuela, organized by the chavista National Electoral Council (CNE).
The decision comes after a formal complaint presented by a group of lawyers, which includes the former executive secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) Paulo Abrão. The complaint was based on the exclusion of approximately 5.5 million Venezuelans living abroad, a considerable number of total voters, who were left without access to the right to vote. Furthermore, lawyers point out that, according to the voting records released by the opposition, the Maduro regime would have lost the elections to the opposition candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, who obtained more than two votes for each of Maduro’s votes.
In the complaint, the lawyers reaffirmed the Venezuelan opposition’s points about the electoral process, which was marked by the violation of the political rights of millions of citizens, including restrictions on voting for those who live abroad and the obstruction of judicial resources. When initiating the investigation, the UN Human Rights Committee determined that the Maduro regime preserve the electoral materials in its possession, such as the original voting minutes, essential to guarantee the transparency of the process, which were not released by the CNE, body that declared Maduro the winner of the election.
The UN Human Rights Committee, made up of 18 independent experts, oversees the application of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The group of lawyers also argued in the complaint that, in addition to the restrictions on voting, there was a “systematic ignorance of the popular will” and the publication of fraudulent electoral results.
“The opening of the case represents a crucial advance in the fight for democracy and human rights in Venezuela,” said the jurists, who claim that the investigation could lead to a historic decision, recognizing that Maduro is not the country’s elected president.