The Carter Center electoral observation mission, invited by the National Electoral Council of Venezuela to monitor the presidential elections, has asked the authorities to “immediately” publish “all the minutes of the polling stations installed during the electoral day held on July 28.”
The statement came hours after the Venezuelan National Electoral Council itself declared victory to President Nicolás Maduro with 51.2% of the votes compared to 44.2% for the main opposition candidate, led by Edmundo González Urrutia.
The request for an observation mission coincides with those launched by a large part of the international community, from the United States to Brazil, via the EU, Spain, Colombia and Chile.
“Our technical mission, sent to Venezuela at the invitation of the CNE, aims to evaluate the presidential election in accordance with the Venezuelan legal framework, as well as regional and international standards regarding democratic elections,” the Carter Center statement said. “The information from the minutes transmitted to the CNE is indispensable for our evaluation and fundamental for the Venezuelan people.”
International reactions
Several progressive governments in Latin America have expressed themselves along the same lines as the Carter Center, calling for greater transparency in the recount that gives Maduro the victory. Chilean President Gabriel Boric warned on Monday that the results offered by the National Electoral Council of Venezuela that give Nicolás Maduro the victory “are difficult to believe” and that his country will not recognize “any result that is not verifiable.”
Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo has stated that “the electoral results of such an important day must have all possible credibility and legitimacy for the good of the region and, above all, of the Venezuelan people.” “It is important to clear up any doubts about the results. This implies that international observers and monitors present their conclusions on the process. We call for the complete counting of the votes, their verification and independent audit to be carried out as soon as possible.”
Along the same lines, Brazil has said that it will await the full results before making a statement. “The Brazilian government welcomes the peaceful nature of the electoral process in Venezuela and is following the vote count closely,” the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in an official statement. The note “reaffirms” that “the principle of popular sovereignty must be observed through impartial verification of the results” and adds that Brazil “awaits, in this context,” the publication of all the data “detailed by voting table.” This last requirement, according to the statement, is “an indispensable step for the transparency, credibility and legitimacy of the result of the electoral process.”
For his part, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has expressed “serious concerns that the announced results do not reflect the will of the votes or the Venezuelan people.” Blinken has also asked that “detailed tables of votes” be shared.
The High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, has expressed himself along the same lines, stating that it is “vital” to ensure “the complete transparency” of the electoral process in Venezuela, “including the detailed counting of votes and access to the voting records of polling stations.”
“The election results have not been verified and cannot be considered representative of the popular will of Venezuela until all official voting records are published and verified,” Borrell said. “Credible reports from national and international observers indicate that the elections have been marred by numerous flaws and irregularities,” he added, recalling that the government has not implemented any of the recommendations of the 2021 EU electoral mission.
Source: www.eldiario.es
