Argentina's Fernandez, Brazilian court withdraw from Venezuelan election observer mission

Argentina's Fernandez, Brazilian court withdraw from Venezuelan election observer mission

Former Argentine President Alberto Fernandez and Brazil's electoral court both said on Wednesday they had withdrawn from acting as observers in Venezuela's presidential election this weekend, fueling concerns about the fairness of the vote.

The contest on Sunday pits incumbent President Nicolas Maduro against opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, who has attracted significant support.

The opposition and some analysts have questioned whether the vote will be fair, and international observers are seen as key to support the election's transparency.

Maduro has held power since 2013 when he took over the presidency following the death of Hugo Chavez. The United States and other Western nations call him a dictator, while Human Rights Watch and other groups have criticised his government's human rights record.

On Monday, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he would send his top foreign policy advisor to observe the contest and that Brazil's federal electoral court TSE had also agreed to send officials.

Lula, a leftist, criticized Maduro for saying Venezuela could face bloodshed if he loses and said he needed to "learn that when you win, you stay; when you lose, you leave".

Fernandez, who led Argentina from 2019 to 2023, had been invited by Venezuela's electoral council to observe the vote but he said that Caracas asked him not to go after he agreed with Lula's comments.

"The reason given to me is that, in the opinion of that government, public statements made by me caused discomfort and raised doubts about my impartiality," Fernandez wrote on X, confirming he would no longer travel there.

"I only said that if the ruling party were eventually defeated, it had to accept the popular verdict. The opposition should do the same," he said.

Later, Brazil's TSE also said it would no longer send officials to Venezuela because of remarks by Maduro attacking the Brazilian electoral process and its electronic voting system.

"In Brazil they don't audit a single ballot," Maduro told a rally on Tuesday.

The electoral court said that "in view of the false remarks against Brazil's electronic voting machines, the TSE will not send technicians to Venezuela to monitor the next Sunday's election."

Venezuela in May had already revoked its invitation to the European Union to send observers for the presidential contest.