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ASUNCION, July 19 (Xinhua) — The governments of Paraguay, Argentina, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Uruguay issued this Friday a joint statement on the electoral process in Venezuela ahead of the July 28 presidential election.
The document published by the Paraguayan Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that these countries observe with hope the civility, enthusiasm and patriotism of the majority of Venezuelan society, who are preparing to vote with praiseworthy dignity and democratic spirit.
He stressed that the upcoming elections are an opportunity to bring peace, unity, progress and democracy to Caribbean countries.
“This is only possible if the Venezuelan authorities strictly abide by the commitments made with the opposition in the Barbados Agreement and respect democratic principles as well as the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Venezuelans,” he said.
“We urge that the election results faithfully reflect the sovereignty of the Venezuelan people, which can only be achieved through absolute respect for democratic principles and fundamental human rights, transparency of the electoral process and the free expression of citizens’ opinions through voting,” he added.
He added, “The signatories stressed that in a democracy, sovereignty resides in the citizens and therefore the will of the people must be able to be expressed without intimidation and obstacles.”
“For these reasons, the results of Venezuela’s elections, for their legitimacy, must be a transparent reflection of the will of the people expressed freely at the polls,” he said.
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