- The Colombian government had previously formally cancelled the electoral observation commission that would assist the country to observe the presidential elections.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on July 26 that he will respect democratic decisions made by Venezuela, two days before the country’s presidential elections.
“Venezuela makes democratic decisions. Whatever its will is, it will be respected by my government,” the Colombian president wrote on his X account.
Petro has expressed his position on Venezuela’s electoral issue on several occasions, in which President Nicolás Maduro is seeking re-election against opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia and eight other candidates.
On July 10, the Colombian president proposed a “national agreement” that provides guarantees to the Venezuelan oppositionafter the elections are held on July 28.
“What I propose for Colombia is valid for Venezuela. A national agreement that, in the Venezuelan case, seeks the maximum guarantees for the opposition, respecting the upcoming electoral result,” the president wrote on his X account.
According to the Colombian president, the opposition and the government should present this national agreement as a declaration of State before the Security Council of the United Nations Organization (UN), however, the proposal was not taken into account.
Democratic pact in Venezuela
On April 17, Gustavo Petro revealed in a press conference held together with the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, that they made a proposal to President Nicolás Maduro and the Venezuelan opposition about holding a plebiscite.
“We want to convey to you, together with President Lula, a proposal that was conveyed to President Maduro and the opposition. It is about the possibility of a plebiscite in the upcoming elections, which would guarantee a democratic pact,” declared Gustavo Petro at the Casa de Nariño.
He stressed that this proposal seeks to offer guarantees for “anyone who loses” in the Venezuelan presidential elections.
“We want to guarantee that anyone who loses in these elections will have certainty and security about their life, their rights, and the political guarantees that any human being should have in their respective country,” he said.
Brazil and Colombia will not participate in electoral observation
The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) of Brazil, as well as the government of Colombia, announced on July 24 that They will not send observers to the elections following President Maduro’s statements regarding his electoral system.
“In the face of false statements against Brazilian electronic voting machines, which, contrary to what Venezuelan authorities claim, are auditable and secure, the Superior Electoral Tribunal will not send technicians to respond to a request made by the National Electoral Council (CNE) of that country to monitor Sunday’s elections,” the TSE said in a statement.
The Brazilian body said it does not accept that, internally or externally, through statements or acts that disrespect the fairness of the Brazilian electoral process, “the seriousness and integrity of the elections” and of electronic voting machines in Brazil are undermined.
On the other hand, journalist Ricardo Ospina reported through his X account that Colombia formally cancelled the commission that the Colombian Foreign Minister, Luis Gilberto Murillo, had requested to go to Venezuela.
Government withdrew invitation to former president of Argentina
The former president of Argentina Alberto Fernandez reported that he will not travel to Venezuela for the presidential elections on July 28 due to a decision by the government of Nicolás Maduro. The CNE had previously sent him an invitation to attend the elections as an “electoral observer.”
“The Venezuelan national government informed me of its desire that I not travel to Venezuela and that I desist from fulfilling the task that had been entrusted to me by the CNE,” he stated on his X account on July 24.
Fernández explained that the reason given to him was that, in the government’s opinion, the public statements he made to a national media outlet “caused discomfort and raised doubts” about his impartiality.
The former president also expressed his hope that Venezuela could hold elections in a “transparent” manner and that the popular verdict would be respected.
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2024-07-26 20:27:58
