Former Venezuelan vice president casts doubt on 2024 election result ahead of new dialogue

This is a translation of the original article in Portuguese. Read the original (Português).

Former Venezuelan vice president Elías Jaua said the National Electoral Council (CNE) had failed to justify the results of the presidential election of July 28, 2024. According to the Venezuelan newspaper La Noticia de Barinas, Jaua said the explanations given after the vote raise doubts.

In the same statement, the former vice president called on all of the country’s political forces to recognize the results.

The remarks carry weight because they come from a figure who held the vice presidency and is associated with chavismo, the political movement that governs Venezuela. Questions about the 2024 election have typically come from the opposition and foreign governments, not from figures tied to the group in power.

The statement comes days before a new round of talks between the government and the opposition. According to La Noticia de Barinas, which cites sources heard by the Spanish news agency EFE, the two sides are due to begin the fourth round of dialogue this Friday (13).

The opposition will be represented by Dinorah Figuera. Speaking about the negotiations, she called for fair elections and new releases of political prisoners, two issues at the center of the dispute between the Venezuelan groups.

The terms of the new round, such as the full agenda and the format of the meetings, are still to be detailed by the parties involved in the negotiation.

For Brazil, the outcome of these talks matters directly. Venezuela is a neighbor of Brazil, and the political direction in Caracas influences relations with Brasília and with the region’s other governments, in addition to affecting international sanctions on the country and the oil market, Venezuela’s main source of wealth.

The July 28, 2024 election remains the main point of friction between the government and the opposition. Any sign of flexibility from either side on that result could shift the balance at the negotiating table, which meets again this week.

The opposition expects the new round to advance toward concrete commitments on the electoral process and on the situation of political prisoners, while the government has not publicly signaled what it intends to put on the table.

Reporting from La Noticia de Barinas (p. 9, Caracas/Venezuela (inclui informações atribuídas à agência EFE)).