Buenos Aires, Aug 15 (EFE).- Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on Thursday rejected Brazil’s proposal to hold new elections or form a coalition government, and insisted that The results that declared Nicolás Maduro the winner of the presidential election are fraudulent.
“The elections took place and Venezuelan society expressed itself in very adverse conditions, where there was fraud and yet we still managed to win,” Machado responded in a virtual press conference with media in Argentina and Chile, including EFE.
“We must respect the voice of the people, we must respect sovereignty”Machado emphasized and asked: “Would you accept that another election be called in your respective countries?”
“If this is a decision that is going to be made at a table, why did they make it in the first place?” he added.
Machado also stressed that “elections are decided by votes, not by agreements between the leaders.”
Maduro was declared the winner by the National Electoral Council (CNE), but Machado insisted on Thursday on the “monumental victory” of the opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia with 7.3 million votes – almost 84% of the votes – against the 3.3 million votes that she said Maduro obtained.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva suggested two possible solutions to the post-election crisis in Venezuela on Thursday: the formation of a coalition government that includes members of the Chavista and opposition parties or the holding of new elections.
Gustavo Petro suggested for Venezuela a “national front” like the one that existed in his country in the 20th century, in which liberals and conservatives took turns in power as a “transitory” step towards a “definitive solution” to the crisis.
“There will be a second election, and if he doesn’t like the results, will there be a third, fourth, fifth election, until Maduro likes the results? Would you accept that in your country?” Machado wondered.
In view of the proposal for a new election @MariaCorinaYA He answers: “And if Maduro doesn’t like second elections? Are we going to have a third one? Would you accept that in your countries? We went to elections with the rules of tyranny. To propose a new election is a mistake… pic.twitter.com/vaYS8W5IfO
— Nitu Perez Osuna (@Nitu Perez) August 15, 2024
“To ignore” the June 28 elections “is a lack of respect for Venezuelans who have given everything. Popular sovereignty is respected. The elections have already taken place,” he said.
Regarding the idea of a coalition government, he asked to be “very careful” because he distinguished the examples in other countries where the parties have “political differences” but “have been democratic or have not been involved in criminal cases” from what is happening in Venezuela.
Machado recalled that his group offers “incentives and safeguards” to government supporters who want to join its ranks to achieve a democratic transition in preparation for González Urrutia’s inauguration on January 10, and promises that there will be no “persecution” or “revenge.”
“We are willing,” he said, “but the regime has so far refused” to negotiate the transition.
Following the elections in Venezuela, the governments of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico began contacts to find a solution to the crisis, a mediation effort that has, among others, the support of the United States.
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2024-08-16 14:33:59
