HRF Welcomes IA Court HR Ruling on Case of Lopez Mendoza

HRF Welcomes IACourtHR Ruling on Case of López Mendoza, Asks Venezuela to Comply

NEW YORK (September 19, 2011) – The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) welcomes the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACourtHR ) ruling in the case of López Mendoza v. The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. The ruling, published Friday in Spanish, determined that the disqualification of opposition politician López Mendoza violated his political rights under Article 23 of the American Convention on Human Rights. The IACourtHR also asked Venezuela to lift Lopez Mendoza’s disqualification.

This decision confirms that the only way to impose sanctions that ban a person from standing for election or holding public office, is through criminal conviction, and not through administrative or judicial interim decisions.

"The Court’s ruling makes this a landmark case for the entire region, as it affects not only Venezuela, but countries like Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Peru—all of which allow restrictions on political rights that fall below the criminal conviction standard," said Javier El-Hage, general counsel of HRF.

On February 25, HRF filed an amicus curiae brief with the IACourtHR and asked the Court to ratify the standard set in Article 23 of the Convention, under which the state may deprive a person of their political rights only after that individual is convicted as the result of a criminal trial according to due process. In 2008, with no court sentence and under charges of corruption, López Mendoza was banned from running in any election in Venezuela for the next six years.

In 2008, polls predicted López Mendoza as a favorite to win election to the office of mayor of Caracas. Today, López Mendoza is a possible candidate for the 2012 presidential elections, and hopes to stand in the primary elections that will be convened by “La Mesa de la Unidad,” a coalition of political parties that oppose President Hugo Chávez.

In June of 1981, the Venezuelan state recognized the jurisdiction of the IACourtHR, thus rendering its rulings are binding in that country. “Given that López seeks to enter the presidential race, if Venezuela does not comply with the ruling, then the 2012 presidential elections can hardly be considered fair, according to the international minimum standard for elections," concluded El-Hage.

HRF is a nonprofit nonpartisan organization that protects and promotes human rights globally, with an expertise in the Americas. We believe that all human beings are entitled to freedom of self-determination, freedom from tyranny, the rights to speak freely, to associate with those of like mind, and to leave and enter their countries. Individuals in a free society must be accorded equal treatment and due process under law, and must have the opportunity to participate in the governments of their countries; HRF’s ideals likewise find expression in the conviction that all human beings have the right to be free from arbitrary detainment or exile and from interference and coercion in matters of conscience. HRF does not support nor condone violence. HRF’s International Council includes former prisoners of conscience Vladimir Bukovsky, Palden Gyatso, Václav Havel, Mutabar Tadjibaeva, Ramón J. Velásquez, Elie Wiesel, and Harry Wu.

Contact: Pedro Pizano, pedro@thehrf.org, Office: +1 (212) 246.8486

Read the March 1 release “HRF Files Amicus Brief with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights; Court’s Decision Could Set Precedent for Protecting Political Rights” here.

Read the amicus brief filed by HRF with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights here.

To learn more about López Mendoza’s case, watch his speech at HRF’s annual conference, the Oslo Freedom Forum

Venezuelan electoral System is fraudulent

San Francisco, November 1st, 2010
Tibisay Lucena CNE Director and President
Centro Simón Bolívar,
Edificio Sede del Consejo Nacional Electoral,
Frente a la Plaza CaracasCaracas, Venezuela
Teléfono: 58-212-408.52.00
Fax: 58-212-408.50.06

Sandra Oblitas Ruzza - CNE Director and Vice-president
Vicente José Díaz Silva – CNE Director
Socorro E. Hernández CNE Director
Tania D' Amelio Cardiet - CNE Director
Xavier A. Moreno R - General Secretary

Ref.: Publication of the results of overseas votes – Parliamentary elections of September 26, 2010

Venezuelans who live and vote abroad are concerned that the results of our votes have not been published in the pages of the CNE. Article number 125 of the Organic Law on Electoral Processes of Venezuela requires the CNE to the “Publication of the Results of Electoral Processes”.

Article 125. The Consejo Nacional Electoral (National Electoral Council) shall order the publication of the results of electoral processes in the Electoral Gazette of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela within thirty (30) days following the proclamation of the elected candidates.

To this date, after October 25 marked the 30 day established period to publish overseas electoral results, we find that the CNE has yet to comply, because its website is missing the publication. The Venezuelan National Electoral Council boasts of having one of the most modern electoral systems in the world, but not having complied with the publication of our information reveals exactly the opposite. Unfortunately, this recurring fact discourages the participation of Venezuelans living abroad in the electoral processes.
We are concerned that the same will happen as with previous elections, for example, the results of the Recall Referendum of the Constitutional Amendment proposed by President Hugo Chávez, which took place on February 15, 2009; overseas results where never published by the CNE.
Additionally, we would like to ask the CNE the early opening of the Permanent Electoral Registry (REP) at the consulates abroad, so that more Venezuelan citizens can exercise this important right.
Awaiting compliance with the law and the publication of the electoral results on the website of the National Electoral Council, we remain,

Students agreed today: they will vote NO!!!

The intention to abstain is still running high, however, and only a few of the opposition spokesmen have called on voters to go out and vote NO.

Distrust of the CNE continues to be strong, and the “reform” route is recognized by most as illegitimate, but the encouraging trend favoring the NO could change that soon.

In addition to Petkoff, Baduel and Ismael Garcia of PODEMOS, Manuel Rosales has now also called on voters to do so, and the students will take the same position on the occasion of their march this Wednesday 21.

The parties that are part of the hard liners in the opposition led by Antonio Ledezma, Oscar Perez, Oswaldo Alvarez Paz and Hermann Escarra continue, but probably not for long, to call for the cancellation of the referendum and abstention.

It appears increasingly likely that the “reform” proposal will not pass.

In such an event, but also in the case of a YES victory by a small margin, the political damage to Chávez will be irreversible. Last Friday the anti-government candidates in the elections to the student bodies of the UCV received more than 4 times the votes of the Chavista slate.

Chávez could however limit the damage to his hold on power and sidestep an unavoidable debacle by instructing the Supreme Tribunal of Justice to decide in favor of one of the sixteen requests before it to postpone or cancel the referendum.

However, Chávez also did say in a press conference to the foreign correspondents last week that “elections are just one strategic option in building socialism”.

Tampering with the electronic voting machines is not likely to represent a great temptation, even if no international observers will be present on 2 December. 50% of the ballot boxes will be opened and their contents checked against the numbers of the corresponding voting machines. Opposition parties and ngo’s are organizing a nation-wide operation combining exit polls and a quick-count (tasks that are mainly being organized by Un Nuevo Tiempo).

A large part of the population, quite possibly half of it, feels that it is about to lose its identity, values and very livelihood, and is decided to vigorously defend its rights under any circumstance. The other half is split 3 to 2 between those that feel Chávez is not a bad person but that he is slightly off the rocker, and those that love him passionately and fear that rejection of the reform proposal would lead to the loss of their recently acquired benefits and political priority.

But all generally agree that the “reform” proposal is not necessary to improve governance.

Victory of the YES would spell deep instability, and victory of the NO is certainly no guarantee of normalcy.

The “reform” is proving to be Chávez gravest political mistake since his first election to the Presidency, and regardless of the results of the referendum his government will have lost its legitimacy as of the evening of 2 December.

It will have been the result of a long and drawn out process that started even before his reelection last December, and which has been closely followed by the entire nation. This learning process bodes well for a relatively peaceful resolution of Venezuela’s grave crisis of governance.