The South African Communist Party (SACP) congratulates the people of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on the free and fair presidential elections held on Sunday 28 July 2023. The SACP also congratulates President Nicolas Maduro for the renewed democratic mandate he received from the people of Venezuela.

The SACP condemns the flagrant disrespect of the will of the Venezuelan people by imperialist forces headed by the United States regime. The SACP was directly represented in Venezuela during the elections process, forming part of the South African Election Observers of about 15 organisations. The South African Election Observers belong to, among others, the ANC, SACP, COSATU, CONTRALESA, SASUVE, Royal House of Mandela and Abahlali Basemjondolo.

The South African Election Observers have swiftly condemned and dispelled the allegations of a fraudulent electoral process in Venezuela. In its joint statement released on Sunday, the South African mission stated, “No matter who the people of Venezuela vote for in these elections (the incumbent President, Nicolas Maduro, or one of the other candidates), the fact is that international election observers, that include South Africans, have witnessed a free and fair process. The people of Venezuela, like all other sovereign nations, have the right to elect whomever they so wish without outside interference”

A total of about 910 observers from around 100 countries, including several African nations, witnessed first-hand that the pre-elections environment allowed for unrestricted campaigning, and observed that the election day was peaceful and all political parties and citizens enjoyed freedom of movement and could freely engage with the media and the international observers. Additionally, all observers were granted opportunities to meticulously scrutinise the voting process without undue hindrance. The National Electoral Authority was professional and unbiased in the execution of their responsibilities. In addition to the general external observers, the performance of the National Electoral Authority was also formally monitored by official international elections monitors. The system, which is highly sophisticated and completely digitised, makes vote buying impossible. The superior automated voting system was complemented with manual mechanisms of control, which could easily be verified by Party Agents, who were present at every voting station, in the event of disputes.  Any suggestion that the voting systems were flawed can be confidently disputed as scientifically baseless.

The SACP conveys its message of solidarity with the people of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in their continued quest to assert their national sovereignty and the right to self-determination. We also condemn the imperialist aggression spearheaded by the United States regime in violation of international law. Considering the aggression and abnormality imposed on Venezuelans by imperialist forces, the Venezuelan people have demonstrated outstanding commitment to electoral democracy.