Colombia asks Venezuela to “fully comply with the results” of the elections

Luis Murillo called on Venezuelan political leaders to respect Sunday’s results / Photo: EFE

Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo asked Venezuela on Saturday to “guarantee peaceful elections with full compliance with the results” of the long-awaited presidential elections that the neighboring country will hold on Sunday.

“Tomorrow’s presidential elections in Venezuela will conclude an electoral process in this sister, neighboring, nearby republic. Within the framework of the greatest respect for the internal processes of the States, from Colombia we urge the competent authorities to guarantee peaceful elections with full compliance with the results,” Murillo said in a video released by her office.

Murillo is in Brazil, where she met with senior Brazilian government officials to discuss several issues, including the Venezuelan elections, which are “very important for both countries and for the region.”

I exhort

“We urge all political sectors to turn this day into an election day that truly serves as the closing of a cycle and the starting point of peaceful and democratic coexistence in which dialogue is the tool to resolve differences,” Murillo added.

Ten candidates will participate in Sunday’s elections, including President Nicolás Maduro and former ambassador Edmundo González Urrutia, the candidate of the largest opposition coalition headed by María Corina Machado, who leads the voting intention, according to traditional pollsters.

Murillo urged the winner of the elections to “offer all guarantees to the other political forces so that they can exercise their rights without any kind of limitation.”

Key moment

“It is time for democratic greatness, where the sovereign and majority expression of a sister nation must undoubtedly prevail,” said the foreign minister, who reiterated “absolute respect for the sovereignty and autonomy of Venezuela and its institutions” and Colombia’s willingness “to support democratic advances in the region.”

“As President (Gustavo) Petro stated, tomorrow Venezuela will make democratic decisions and whatever its will is will be respected by the Colombian government,” concluded the foreign minister.

Bogota / EFE