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BRASILIA – The governments of Brazil, Mexico and Colombia said Thursday that electoral authorities Venezuela The National Electoral Council declared incumbent President Nicolas Maduro the winner after “swiftly” releasing data “broken down by polling station” from Sunday’s election.
The three countries, led by progressive presidents, said in a joint statement that election disputes must be resolved through “institutional” means and that the principle of popular sovereignty must be respected through “fair verification of the results.”
Meanwhile, at least 11 people have been reported dead and hundreds arrested, with governments calling on politicians to exercise “utmost caution and restraint” during the protests to avoid “an escalation of violence”.
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“Maintaining social peace and protecting people’s lives must be the top priority at this moment,” the joint statement read.
On the other hand, the Commission reiterated its “absolute respect” for the sovereign will of the Venezuelan people and its willingness to help efforts for “dialogue and the search for agreement.”
Venezuela’s CNE declared Nicolás Maduro victor over rival Edmundo González Urrutia 80% of the time, a result widely rejected by the opposition and the international community.
Presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil; Gustavo Petro, of Colombia; and Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of Mexico have avoided recognizing the result without severing ties with Maduro’s government.
The three leaders abstained or refrained from voting on an Organization of American States (OAS) resolution that, among other things, called for the immediate publication of the minutes of each electoral centre.
Maduro’s government has expelled diplomats from several countries in the region, including Argentina and Chile, whose leader, the equally progressive Gabriel Boric, has publicly questioned the validity of the results.
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