Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro appointed four ‘guarantors’ to monitor opposition governors in the states where his ruling socialist regime failed to win top regional positions during last weekend’s regional elections.
In a television broadcast on Tuesday, Maduro confirmed that he had appointed a number of socialist “guarantors” to avoid “leaving people out in the cold,” after the opposition governors boycotted the swearing-in ceremony amid widespread allegations of voter fraud in Sunday’s regional elections.
They also refused to be sworn in front of Maduro’s “national constituent assembly,” a fraudulent lawmaking body decreed in August filled exclusively with Maduro’s closest allies, including his wife and son. Legally, swearing-in ceremonies must take place in front of both regional parliaments and the democratically elected National Assembly, but so far, no new governor has done so.
“The governors-elect will only be sworn in as established in the constitution and the laws of the Republic,” the Democratic Unity Coalition said in a statement.
“These four comrades, are, as of today, named by the revolution as the guarantors of the respective states of Zulia, Mérida, Nueva Esparta, and Anzoátegui,” Maduro said.
He also held a meeting with the 18 newly “elected” governors to “chart the beginnings of a new strategic plan for the country.”
This weekend, Maduro also warned of repeat elections if the opposition governors-elect continue to refuse to be sworn in by the unconstitutional lawmaking body.
“Anyone who wants to be governor will have to recognize the Constituent National Assembly; otherwise elections will be repeated in states where the Assembly is not recognized,” Maduro said at the inauguration.
The run-up to last week’s elections were affected by a number of irregularities which, according to the State Department, included a “lack of independent, credible international observers; lack of technical audit for the National Electoral Council’s (CNE) tabulation; last minute changes to polling station locations without public notice; manipulation of ballot layouts; and limited availability of voting machines in opposition neighborhoods.”
While the opposition coalition claimed they did not recognize the “fictional” results, Maduro celebrated it as a “victory for Chavismo,” adding that Venezuela maintains “the best electoral system in the world.”
In July, the Maduro regime was also found to have doctored the results of a poll to elect members of his new illegal legislature. According to a post-election report by the election technologies company Smartmatic, turnout figures in the election were inflated by at least one million votes.
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