After the political disqualifications, the IACHR highlights that said decision disproportionately impacted the dissident political parties of the government, as is the case of the PSUV, with 15 disqualifications, and the opposition parties gathered in the MUD, which received at least 3 disqualifications.
The Electoral Observation Mission of the European Union denounced that the National Electoral Council of Venezuela rejected 27 candidacies in the framework of the 2021 regional and municipal elections due to political disqualifications imposed by the Comptroller General of the Republic.
In this sense, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) rejects the violations of political rights in the 2021 elections and urges the Venezuelan State to adopt a genuine commitment to democracy and the rule of law.
Reiterates that no administrative body can restrict the political rights to elect and be elected through sanctions of disqualification or dismissal. In accordance with inter-American standards, in order to consolidate and protect a democratic system that is respectful of human rights, this type of sanction can only be imposed through a conviction by a judge within the framework of a criminal proceeding.
Since 2015, more than 30 leaders of the opposition to the government have received disqualifications by the Comptroller General of the Republic, sanctions for which the State of Venezuela was internationally condemned in the López Mendoza case.
After the political disqualifications, the IACHR highlights that said decision had a disproportionate impact on the dissident political parties of the government, as is the case of the Communist Party of Venezuela, with 15 disqualifications, and the opposition parties gathered in the Democratic Unity Table (MUD). ), who received at least 3 disqualifications.
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Along the same lines, the Supreme Court of Justice suspended the counting of votes for the election to the governorship of Barinas. This was due to the fact that the opposition candidate who was widely leading in the vote count was disqualified by the Comptroller General’s Office, despite the fact that he was able to register his candidacy and that, according to what he directly informed the Commission, he was never notified of the alleged disqualification.
The IACHR considers that these decisions represent arbitrariness aimed at hindering the political rights of opposition figures. Remember that the exercise of political rights is an end in itself and, at the same time, a means that democratic societies have to guarantee other rights.
In this sense, it is urgent for the State to reconstruct the separation and independence of public powers through concrete reforms, and to guarantee that the Comptroller General of the Republic does not continue to impose this type of sanctions in the face of future electoral events.
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