- Costa Rican lawmakers urged other Latin American parliaments to take action in favor of the opposition leader, while condemning Maduro’s government for committing electoral fraud.
On September 19, the Costa Rican Congress approved a motion recognizing Edmundo González Urrutia as the president-elect of Venezuela following the elections of July 28. With 43 votes in favor and only one against, the deputies called on parliaments in the region to make similar pronouncements.
In the same vein, he rejected the bulletin issued by the National Electoral Council (CNE) in which it proclaimed Nicolás Maduro as the winner of the elections. In the motion, he considered his reelection to be fraudulent and condemned his actions “for staying in power and for refusing to respect the popular will of the Venezuelan people and, therefore, for violating the Human Rights and fundamental political rights of its citizens.”
This statement by Congress follows the one made by the Costa Rican government on the same day as the Venezuelan elections, when President Rodrigo Chaves claimed that the process had been fraudulent.
“It is clear to Costa Rica that Nicolás Maduro did not receive the majority of votes from Venezuelans, so we refute the fraudulent proclamation that he won the elections, it being indisputable that Edmundo González received the majority support of the Venezuelan people,” the Costa Rican Foreign Ministry said on August 2.
Which parliaments have recognised Edmundo González’s victory?
At least six countries have openly declared themselves in favour of Edmundo González. In the case of Ecuador and Panama, their governments consider the opposition candidate to be the true president-elect of Venezuela. Meanwhile, since August, the governments of Argentina, Uruguay, the United States and Costa Rica itself have addressed González as the winning candidate, although without yet declaring him president. Peru has had a more ambiguous position, with contradictions among its spokespeople.
In recent weeks, however, several parliaments have debated and approved resolutions urging their governments to finally recognize Gonzalez as president-elect. This is the case in Spain, whose Senate voted in favor of the motion on September 18, after also having the approval of the Chamber of Deputies. However, spokesmen for the Spanish government have already clarified that President Pedro Sánchez might not comply with the measure, maintaining a neutral position on the matter.
On September 19th The European Parliament also approved a non-binding text to recognise González as president-elect. The resolution was voted in favour by 309 votes, 201 against and 12 abstentions. It also calls on the Member States of the European Union and its Member States to take similar actions, although on an optional basis and at the discretion of each one.
In Colombia, the House of Representatives also approved a motion promoted by the Democratic Center to recognize González. It had 83 votes in favor and 27 against, so it will now go to the Senate. It had strong opposition from the ruling party Pacto Histórico, so President Gustavo Petro could take a position similar to that of Sánchez in Spain.
Arrest warrant
Ecuador’s National Assembly approved a request to President Daniel Noboa to request arrest warrants against Nicolás Maduro and officials in his inner circle. The measure was proposed by Assemblywoman María Teresa Pasquel and received 79 votes in favor, 50 against and 1 abstention.
This is a similar measure to the one approved by the Chilean Senate on August 27, in which it urged President Gabriel Boric to request Maduro’s arrest before the International Criminal Court (ICC). Although the government has not yet made a formal statement on the matter.
So far, of the countries participating in the lawsuit against the Venezuelan government for alleged crimes against humanity, the only one that has formally made the request to the ICC is Argentina. In a statement on September 6, the Argentine Foreign Ministry urged prosecutor Karim Khan to ask the Pre-Trial Chamber to issue arrest warrants against Maduro and “other leaders of the regime.”
With information from EFE
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2024-09-20 12:53:43
