San José, Jul 17 (EFE).- The Alliance for Development in Democracy (ADD), made up of Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic, made this Wednesday a call for free and transparent elections in Venezuela, accompanied by international organizations.
“We reiterate our call for free, fair and transparent elections to be held in Venezuela on July 28, with the support of recognized international organizations and in a climate of peace and full respect for the rights of all political actors,” said a statement from the ADD.
The bloc of countries expressed its conviction that transparent, free, peaceful and inclusive elections in Venezuela “are the ideal path to achieve democratic stability, sustainable development and social peace in that country.”
They also urged Venezuela to comply with the Inter-American Democratic Charter and to act in line with the objectives of the Barbados agreements.
The ADD stated that “the will of the Venezuelan people, the foundation of democracy, must be respected” and added that the result of the election “must be a transparent reflection of the popular will freely expressed at the polls.”
Besides Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, nine other opposition candidates will compete in the elections, in which the standard-bearer of the majority opposition, Edmundo González Urrutia, leads the voting intention, according to traditional pollsters.
Venezuelan authorities have arrested 102 people linked to González Urrutia’s campaign this year, the NGO Foro Penal reported on Tuesday.
Of the 102 arrests – some for a few hours and others with imprisonment to date – 77 occurred since the formal start of the campaign on July 4.
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2024-07-19 19:23:55
