The resolution of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) which asked the Government of Venezuela The immediate publication of the minutes of last Sunday’s elections did not achieve the necessary support to be approved.
In a vote held this Wednesday in an extraordinary session in Washingtonthe proposal obtained 17 votes in favorno opposition and 11 abstentionswith 5 absences. For its approval, an absolute majority of the members of the body was required.
The text required the National Electoral Council (CNE) from Venezuela, which declared the winner Nicolas Maduroto “immediately publish the results of the vote” at each polling station. It also called for a full verification of the results with the presence of independent observation organisations to ensure transparency and credibility.
The resolution also stressed the importance of safeguard human rights in Venezuela, especially the right to demonstrate peacefully without retaliation, and emphasized the need to protect and preserve all equipment used in the electoral process, including voting records.
They voted in favor Argentina, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, United States, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Suriname and Uruguay.
They abstained Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Grenada, Honduras, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia.
They did not participate in the session Dominica, Mexico, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.
The Embassador Ronald Sanderschair of the Permanent Council and representative of Antigua and Barbuda, explained that the lack of consensus was due to a single phrase in the text that he did not specify. Countries that abstained or did not attend cited different reasons for their decision.
Peru’s Foreign Minister, Javier Gonzalez-Olaecheastrongly criticized those countries that abstained, calling their stance a betrayal of the Democratic Charter of the OAS.
“We then wonder why our citizens, and especially our young people, do not believe us politicians,” he said. “Everyone here present, including those who were absent and those who abstained, voted in favour of the Democratic Charter (of the OAS), an instrument designed to abort regimes that want to perpetuate themselves in power,” he recalled.
:quality(85)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/6574VJPY5FD6JN5ZY7HD3WHPUY.jpg 992w "This is how the OAS countries voted on the draft resolution that required Venezuela to reveal voting records 7")
Peruvian Foreign Minister Javier González-Olaechea strongly criticized those countries that abstained, calling their stance a betrayal of the OAS Democratic Charter. (Foreign Ministry/Flickr)The international pressure The pressure on the Maduro regime to ensure the transparency of its electoral processes has been intense. Regional leaders and international organizations, such as the European Union and leaders like Gustavo Petro from Colombia and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Brazil, have urged the Venezuelan dictatorship to clarify the election results. However, both countries abstained from voting, while Mexico did not participate, aligning itself with its previous warning to stay away because it considered the actions of the OAS to be biased.
Luis Almagrosecretary general of the OAS, urged Maduro to acknowledge his electoral defeat or call new elections. In his speech, Almagro stressed that the electoral records have not yet been presented, which he considers unacceptable and devastating for democracy. He denounced the violence and imprisonment of voting witnesses and announced that he will request judicial charges against Maduro.
On the other hand, Roberto Quesadarepresentative of Honduras, criticized the fact that the OAS is addressing the situation in Venezuela due to the country’s absence from the organization. “When both sides of a conflict are not heard, it is impossible to be an impartial judge,” he said. Colombia, in a subsequent statement, explained that it does not consider the OAS to be the appropriate forum to address the Venezuelan situation and reaffirmed its commitment to seek solutions through dialogue with Brazil and Mexico.
Victory by Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia
Also during the OAS session, the US State Department representative for Latin America, Brian Nicholsstated that there is “irrefutable” evidence to declare the victory of the opposition candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutiain the Venezuelan presidential elections of July 28.
:quality(85)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/NZVNKEDMSFCEFDOIF4F67HQOSE.jpg 420w "This is how the OAS countries voted on the draft resolution that required Venezuela to reveal voting records 8")
The US State Department official for Latin America, Brian Nichols, said that there is “irrefutable” evidence to declare the victory of the opposition candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia (EFE/ Bienvenido Velasco)The diplomat urged both Maduro and the other countries of the “world” to recognize Gonzalez’s victory, supporting the validity of the voting records published by the opposition on a website.
The information published by the anti-Chavez movement contradicts the version of the Venezuelan National Electoral Council (CNE), which declared victory to Maduro in the early hours of Monday with 51% of the votes.
The CNE, however, has not shown the total vote counts, something that has been demanded by both the opposition and the citizens in mass protests and by part of the international community.
In response to international criticism, the Maduro regime ordered the return of all its diplomatic personnel in Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Panama and Uruguay and asked these countries to withdraw their diplomatic personnel from Venezuela.
Source: Infobae
