The opposition’s tally sheets “leave no room for doubt” that Edmundo González Urrutia “is the elected president of Venezuela,” María Corina Machado said.
14ymedio/EFE, Havana/Caracas/Madrid/Santiago de Chile, 4 August 2024 — Opposition leader María Corina Machado thanked Spain, Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Portugal this Sunday for their “commitment to democracy” in Venezuela, after they signed a joint statement in which they ask Maduro to publish all the voting results of the July 28 presidential election.
“We call on the Venezuelan authorities to publish all the voting minutes without delay in order to guarantee the full transparency and integrity of the electoral process,” reads the document published by European countries this Saturday.
In response, in a message on her X account, Machado supported the demand of European countries that the votes be verified as soon as possible, “at the international and independent level,” in view of the fact that “the regime did not do it within the deadlines established by law.” The largest anti-chavista coalition, the Democratic United Platform (PUD), on the other hand, has made public the proceedings that demonstrate the triumph of its candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia.
En nombre de los venezolanos, agradezco este importante comunicado conjunto de los gobiernos de Italia, Francia, Alemania, Países Bajos, España, Polonia y Portugal, reafirmando su compromiso con la democracia en Venezuela.
Los datos que hemos presentado a los venezolanos y al… https://t.co/MbeoVJjYoq
— María Corina Machado (@MariaCorinaYA) August 4, 2024
Machado insisted that the voting records held by the opposition “leave no room for doubt” that González Urrutia “is the president-elect of Venezuela,” since they represent more than 80% of the votes and are available at resultadosconvzla.com for anyone to consult. This despite the fact that the National Electoral Council (CNE) proclaimed President Nicolás Maduro as the winner without delivering the evidence to support such an announcement.
Machado, who this Saturday came out of hiding from Maduro’s threats to arrest the opposition leaders, thanked the call of European countries to “cease the persecution and repression that in recent hours have been cruelly deployed against innocents, who are only demanding that the popular sovereignty they exercised last Sunday be respected.”
In Spain, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will present his position on Venezuela before the Parliament
It is expected that on August 13, the Spanish Government, through its Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, will present its position on Venezuela to Parliament in an extraordinary session of the Committee on Ibero-American Affairs.
After the presidential elections a week ago in Venezuela, Albares has insisted that the result “must be able to be verified with total transparency,” and for this “it is necessary to present the tally sheets to recognize the results.” He also called for “calm, civility and the guarantee of fundamental rights,” after the protests that have left 22 dead, according to an independent press count, and about 2,000 detainees, according to Maduro himself.
The conservative opposition of the Popular Party asks the minister to explain, among other issues, the Spanish Government’s action after the expulsion of its parliamentary delegation by the Venezuelan authorities. The delegation was a group of senators, deputies and members of the European Parliament who were not authorized to enter Venezuela to act as observers on election day.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric and Brazilian President Lula da Silva will meet this Monday in Santiago de Chile to discuss their differences on the subject of Venezuela as a backdrop
Meanwhile, the presidents of Chile, Gabriel Boric, and Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, will meet this Monday in Santiago de Chile to address a large and strategic bilateral agenda of trade, political and security cooperation. These conversations will take place against the background of their disagreement on regional and international issues, especially the controversial elections in Venezuela.
Although the situation in Venezuela is not included in the official agenda, and so far is absent in the draft of their joint statement, it is most likely that it will be addressed during the meeting. “It is more than natural that they talk about the region,” the Brazilian government said this week.
It is, in short, an inescapable issue, especially if we consider Maduro’s determination to expel the diplomatic missions of Argentina, Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Chile for questioning his win, which is not documented by any evidence.
Translated by Regina Anavy
____________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
