Lula says he does not recognize Maduro’s victory despite the TSJ decision

• The president said that the highest court of justice in Venezuela “is not adequate” to resolve the dispute

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva insisted on August 29 that he does not recognize the electoral victory of his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolás Maduro, despite the decision of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) to certify the results of the National Electoral Council (CNE) and clarified that it does not endorse the victory of opposition candidate Edmundo González.

During an interview with Brazilian radio, Lula said that he does not “question” the Supreme Court of Justice, which validated Maduro’s victory, but explained that, in his opinion, this institution is not the appropriate one to resolve the dispute.

“President Maduro did not listen to the National Electoral Council (CNE) and went straight to the Supreme Court. He should go through the Council, which was created for that purpose,” he said.

The Brazilian president said there was “no evidence” of a Maduro victory, but clarified that he did not recognize opposition candidate Edmundo González as the winner of the July 28 elections.

On the minutes of the electoral process and new elections

Lula once again highlighted his mediation efforts with the Colombian government to demand that the CNE present the electoral records broken down by voting table, a request that has not yet been met.

He also said it was “important” to call new elections, an idea that has been rejected by both sides.

“Maduro will face the consequences of his gesture,” said the president, who said he was “aware of having tried to help a lot.”

He CNE announced Maduro as the winner on the same night of the electionsbut the opposition later published copies of the minutes from a majority of the polling stations and these showed a victory for González by a wide margin.

Dialogue between Brazil and Colombia is expected to allow publication of electoral records

Photo: EFE

Chilean Foreign Minister Alberto van Klaveren said on August 25 that the country “values” the insistence of Brazil and Colombia to achieve the transparent publication of the electoral records of the last presidential elections in Venezuela, and stressed that it “condemns the violations of human rights, including the persecution unleashed against opposition leaders.”

“Anything that leads to knowing the true result of the elections manipulated by the regime in Venezuela is welcome. We value the recent declaration of Brazil and Colombia and their insistence on knowing the results broken down by voting table,” the Chilean Secretary of State posted on Saturday night through the social network X, adding that the country “hopes that a democratic transition can take place in that country.”

The Chilean minister referred to the joint declaration of Brazil and Colombia, a document published on Saturday in which both governments called on all parties involved in the Venezuelan crisis to avoid “acts of violence and repression.”

“Both presidents (Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Gustavo Petro) remain convinced that the credibility of the electoral process can only be restored through the transparent publication of disaggregated and verifiable data. Venezuela’s political normalization requires the recognition that there is no lasting alternative to peaceful dialogue and democratic coexistence in diversity,” the foreign ministries of Brazil and Colombia stated.

The TSJ ruling on the election results and the international position

EFE

On August 22, the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) confirmed the results of the July 28 elections announced by the CNE, which gave victory to Nicolás Maduro, which has been accused of being “fraudulent” inside and outside the country.

On August 23, the governments of Paraguay, Argentina, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, the United States, Guatemala, Panama, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay issued a joint statement on August 23 to reject the ruling of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) that certified the result announced by the National Electoral Council (CNE) of the July 28 elections.

In the statement issued by the foreign ministries of the signatory countries, they indicated that the verification of the results of the electoral process in Venezuela aims to validate the unsupported results issued by the National Electoral Council (CNE).

“Our countries had already expressed their disapproval of the validity of the CNE declaration, after opposition representatives were denied access to the official count, the non-publication of the minutes and the subsequent refusal to carry out an impartial and independent audit of all of them,” the text says.

In addition, the 11 countries recalled that the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UN) on Venezuela warned about the lack of independence and impartiality of both institutions, the CNE and the TSJ.

“The undersigned countries reiterate that only an impartial and independent audit of the votes, which evaluates all the minutes, will guarantee respect for the sovereign popular will and democracy in Venezuela,” the statement said.

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