ELECTION observers in Venezuela have dismissed US claims that the recent parliamentary vote was undemocratic as “false.”

The World Peace Council (WPC) was among the organisations which had open access to voters and polling stations across the country for the election of deputies to the National Assembly which took place on December 6.

Its report praised the Venezuelan people for exercising their democratic rights and overcoming “repeated sabotages, intrigues and an anti-human blockade by the US and European Union imperialists.”

Despite a low turnout of just over 30 per cent of eligible voters, President Nicolas Maduro hailed the election as the start of “a new era” for Venezuela and hoped it would usher in new relations with the incoming Biden administration in the US.

He said that he welcomed dialogue with opposition parties and a relationship with Washington based on respect for Venezuela’s national sovereignty.

His social democratic United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) picked up 68 per cent of the vote and is projected to win 168 seats of the 277 in the country’s National Assembly.

The Communist Party of Venezuela has also returned to parliament and will be represented by general secretary Oscar Figuera after its Popular Revolutionary Alternative electoral alliance received 2.45 per cent of the vote.

Hapless opposition politician Juan Guaido’s call for a boycott was ignored by most opposition parties, with the Democratic Alliance polling at just over 17 per cent and the Leopoldo Lopez-backed United Venezuela getting 4.2 per cent.

A WPC statement said: “The revolutionary people of Venezuela proved once again that they still firmly defend their rights to decide their internal matters alone in the face of imperialist, anti-democratic and anti-human pressures and foreign interference.”

It said it was inspired by “one of the most free and democratic elections in the world.”