Unlike some of his nine rivals, Maduro appears not once or twice, but 13 times on the ballot, and is sure to capture voters’ attention.
Each time, it is for one of the several political groups he represents in the highly anticipated July 28 presidential election. Maduro occupies the entire first row of the four rows on the ballot, while the rest of the candidates’ photos are scattered here and there, including that of former diplomat Edmundo González Urrutia, the only contender with a real chance of denying the president a third term. González Urrutía is the Democratic Unity option, after María Corina Machado was denied the chance to run.
Still, the sheer number of images of Maduro appearing on the ballot belies the gravity of the moment.
Venezuela faces its toughest electoral test in decades. The outcome could either give Maduro another six years in power or end self-proclaimed socialist policies that once pushed anti-poverty programs but whose sustained mismanagement then pushed the country into an ongoing economic crisis.
Venezuela’s electoral rules allow candidates’ photographs to appear on ballots — both electronically within Venezuela and printed for voters abroad — as many times as the number of parties supporting them. This year’s ballot has 38 photographs, each with the name and party of each candidate underneath.
Old practice
Experienced Venezuelan voters are also used to seeing many candidates on the touch screens used in the South American country’s elections. During Hugo Chavez’s time, his face also appeared in more than ten boxes.
But for some, so many photos can be confusing.
“I get dizzy when I see Maduro so many times on that ballot, but I know the danger lies in the candidates who do not represent us,” said Sonia Guevara, a 38-year-old office worker, referring to some opposition candidates who are seen as close to the government.
An example of this is the case of Luis Martínez, the candidate of Democratic Action (AD), a traditional opposition party whose leadership was suspended months ago by the highest court, which is loyal to Maduro.
Martínez decided not to support González, the contender from the opposition coalition Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD).
“This is confusing. I have had to explain to my mother many times that the AD on the ballot is not the AD she always votes for,” said Guevara. “My mother is 71 years old and I tell her not to vote for AD this time.”
González appears on the ballot three times. Martínez, considered an ally of the government, six times.
The number of eligible voters ahead of this month’s election is estimated to be around 17 million. Another 4 million Venezuelans living abroad are registered to vote, but only about 69,000 met the regime’s requirements to cast ballots abroad. Costly and lengthy government registration requirements, lack of information and mandatory proof of legal residency in a host country prevented many migrants from registering to vote. More than 8 million Venezuelans are estimated to have left the country in the past seven years, leading experts to say the regime’s strategy of preventing most from expressing themselves democratically has worked.
Francisco Maldonado, a 50-year-old businessman from Caracas, is ready to vote.
“At this point I think we all know who we are going to vote for, but more than ever we have to be careful, just as careful as we are when using an ATM,” he said. “We can’t make a mistake when marking the ballot.”
Confusing census
The exact population of Venezuela is unclear, as the last census in the South American country was conducted in 2011. At that time, it was concluded that there were 27.2 million people, but due to the political, economic and social crisis in the last decade, more than 8 million have left.
Laura Dib, director of the Venezuela Program at WOLA, a Washington-based nongovernmental organization focused on human rights in the Americas, said that even though it is common for a candidate’s face to be repeated on the ballot, appearing 13 times makes Maduro “visually the easiest to identify.”
Considering that the opposition faction supporting Gonzalez does not have access to official media in Venezuela, Dib said that “the opposition has a harder time educating voters on how to vote.”
He also noted that there are other confusing issues: some parties are using the same ballot colors as those supporting Maduro. And a candidate from a minor opposition group was allowed to use the same color as the main opposition group of candidates.
That, Dib said, “also creates confusion and violates the rules of the CNE,” referring to the National Electoral Council.
In addition, the electoral law allows parties to replace candidates 10 days before election day, although that change may not be reflected in the ballots, which have already been programmed into electronic machines or printed for overseas voting.
If people vote for a candidate who has been replaced, Dib said, “those votes cast will be void.”
Source: With information from AP