Norway calls for publication and verification of election results in Venezuela

• Several countries have spoken out about the elections in Venezuela and demand transparency in the minutes | Photo: EFE

The Norwegian government on Monday, July 29, encouraged the publication and independent verification of the election results, at all levels, of the presidential elections held on July 28 in Venezuela.

“There was a broad turnout in yesterday’s presidential elections in Venezuela. Full transparency is crucial for the credibility and legitimacy of the elections,” said Norway’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andreas Motzfeldt Kravik.

Several countries have expressed their hope for a review of the electoral records following the announcement by the National Electoral Council (CNE) of the re-election of Nicolás Maduro for a third term. Among them: Italy, Brazil, Germany, Costa Rica, Chile and Argentina.

Reactions

The Vice President of the Council of Ministers of Italy, Antonio Tajani, said he had doubts about the conduct of the elections in Venezuela and asked for “access to the minutes” of the elections.

“I have many doubts about the regular conduct of the elections in Venezuela. We request verifiable results and access to the minutes: Does the result announcing Maduro’s victory really reflect the will of the people?” Tajani wrote in a message on his social networks on July 29.

Photo: EFE/EPA/ALESSANDRO DI MEO

Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs, said it is “vital” to ensure “full transparency” in the electoral process in Venezuela.

“It is vital to ensure the full transparency of the electoral process, including the detailed counting of votes and access to the voting records of the polling stations,” the Spanish politician wrote on his profile on the social network X on July 29.

Borrell added that the people of Venezuela “voted on the future of their country in a peaceful and massive manner,” and stressed that their will “must be respected.”

The UK Government expressed concern over allegations of irregularities in Venezuela’s presidential electionwhich is why he asked that “the detailed results” of the voting records be disseminated to ensure transparency.

Foto: Unplash

“We are concerned about reports of serious irregularities in the counting and declared results of the elections. Sunday’s presidential elections in Venezuela“We demand the prompt and transparent publication of detailed results to ensure they reflect the votes of the Venezuelan people,” the UK Foreign Office wrote on its X account.

For his part, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also said that his country’s government is concerned about the results announced by the CNE.

“We have serious concerns that the results announced do not reflect the will of the votes or the Venezuelan people,” Blinken said at a press conference in Tokyo alongside his Quad counterparts on July 29.

What Latin American governments said

Brazil announced that it will refrain from recognizing the victory of President and candidate for reelection, Nicolás Maduro, in the elections until the result is verifiable and has asked international organizations to investigate it.

According to the news portal UOLthe Brazilian government will ask Carter Center Volunteers and United Nations (UN) experts to investigate the data provided by the Venezuelan National Electoral Council (CNE) and compare them with the results that the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD) managed to document.

Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo said it was important to clear up any doubts about the results of Venezuela’s presidential election. He said international observers who were present should offer conclusions about how the process unfolded on July 28.

Chilean President Gabriel Boric said in the early hours of July 29 that his government does not recognize results “that are not verifiable.” Meanwhile, Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou indicated in a message on social media that, in his opinion, the mechanisms that allowed Maduro to achieve victory were not reliable.

The Ecuadorian government also denounced that there was a “lack of transparency” and “guarantees” in the results of the Venezuelan presidential elections of July 28.

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