- The US Secretary of State has asked the Venezuelan electoral body to share voting information with the opposition
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed concern about the results announced by the National Electoral Council (CNE), which declare Nicolas Maduro wins.
“We have serious concerns that the results announced do not reflect the will of the votes or the Venezuelan people,” Blinken said at a press conference in Tokyo alongside his Quad counterparts on July 29.
The CNE declared Maduro the winner for a third consecutive term, having obtained 51.20% of the votes with 80% of the ballots counted. For his part, the opposition candidate Edmundo González obtained 4,445,978 million votes, for a total of 42.2%.
“It is critical that every vote is fair and transparent. Electoral authorities must immediately share information with the opposition and publish detailed voting tables,” the US top diplomat said.
Blinken added that the international community is watching and “will respond accordingly.”
The presidential elections in Venezuela and the publication of their results took place while the US Secretary of State is on a tour of Asia to strengthen the North American country’s alliances with its partners in the region.
“We applaud the Venezuelan people for their participation in the presidential elections on July 28. We commend their courage and their commitment to democracy in the face of repression and diversity,” Blinken said before questioning the validity of the results.
Peru called the ambassador to Venezuela for consultations
Peru announced in the early hours of July 29 that will call its ambassador to Venezuela for consultationsafter the National Electoral Council (CNE) proclaimed current President Nicolás Maduro the winner of the presidential elections.
“In light of the very serious official announcements by the Venezuelan electoral authorities, the immediate recall of the Peruvian ambassador accredited to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has been arranged,” Peruvian Foreign Minister Javier González-Olaechea posted on his social media account X.
González-Olaechea, assured that his country will not accept the violation of the popular will of the Venezuelan people in the presidential elections of July 28, minutes after the CNE announcement.
“I condemn in all its extremes the sum of irregularities with the intention of defrauding by the Venezuelan government. Peru will not accept this violation of the popular will,” González-Olaechea wrote.
Concern of Latin American countries
Before the results were known, the foreign ministers of Uruguay, Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay and Peru issued a joint statement expressing their concern and announcing that they will closely monitor the electoral developments in Venezuela.
The statement, issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay and six other countries, stressed the importance of the election results faithfully reflecting the popular will expressed by the Venezuelan people at the polls.
“We consider it essential to have guarantees that the election results will fully respect the popular will expressed by the Venezuelan people at the polls,” the text states.
The foreign ministers stressed that transparency in the counting of votes is essential to ensure the legitimacy of the results.
“This can only be achieved through a transparent vote count that allows for verification and control by observers and delegates of all candidates,” they said.
This call for transparency and international oversight of the Venezuelan electoral process reflects the international community’s concern about the political situation in the South American country.
The statement concludes by reiterating the commitment of the signatory countries to support the Venezuelan people in their struggle for a full and functional democracy, and to work together to ensure that the electoral process is fair and transparent.
With information from EFE
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2024-07-30 02:26:56
