GEORGETOWN, Guyana – The Private Sector Commission of Guyana (PSC) Tuesday called on Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries to express “solidarity with the people of Venezuela in their appeal for an impartial international verification of the true results of their general elections”.
Nicolas MaduroEarlier this month, Guyana and Suriname joined a strong international appeal for “wisdom and restraint” in the Venezuela crisis, joining the Dominican Republic and 17 other countries, as well as the European Union (EU), in expressing strong concern in a joint statement about the political crisis in Venezuela since the much-disputed July 28 presidential election.
However, leaders of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) have congratulated Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on “his victory and re-election to the Presidency of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela for a third term.”
In a statement following their 75th meeting of the OECS Authority held virtually, the sub-regional leaders said that they discussed the July 28 poll and “expressed their commitment to the holding of free and fair elections in every member of the global community as the surest expression of the will of the people.
“We stand on the principle that elections must be free as the expression of the will of the people and free from outside interference and they must be fair – contested in good faith and subject to the adjudication of independent mechanisms with relevant safeguards for verification and arbitration of any dispute, all within the framework of the national laws and regulations governing the conduct of elections,” the OECS leaders said in their statement.
The National Electoral Council (NEC) has declared Maduro winner of the elections, saying that he had received 51.2 per cent of the vote, while the joint opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia received 44.2 per cent.
Venezuela’s Supreme Justice Tribunal last Thursday ratified President Nicolas Maduro’s victory in the residential election, sealing institutional backing for the ruling party as the disputed contest fades from international headlines.
The supreme tribunal has reviewed material from the electoral authority and agrees that Maduro won the election, court president Caryslia Rodriguez said, adding the decision cannot be appealed.
But in its statement, the PSC said that it has taken note of the situation in Venezuela following elections and the resolution adopted by the Organization of American States (OAS) “affirming our hemisphere’s commitment to uphold democracy, human rights, the peaceful resolution of conflicts, and respect for international law”.
The Commission said it also wishes to recognise and emphasise, as does the OAS resolution, Article 3 of the Inter-American Charter, which commits to “the holding of periodic free and fair elections based on secret balloting and universal suffrage as an expression of the sovereignty of the people.”
“The Commission, therefore, wishes to express its deep concern over the evident abandonment of these democratic principles, the violation of the fundamental human rights and freedoms of the Venezuelan people, and the political and economic instability this threatens in our region as a result of the declared outcomes of the Venezuelan Elections by the Government of Venezuela.”
The PSC said that it “firmly condemns the repression and violence being inflicted upon the Venezuelan people in their legitimate pursuit and demand for democracy and the rule of law to prevail in their own country.
“The Commission, therefore, appeals to all the member countries of the Caribbean community of nations who value the practice of democracy and the holding of free and fair elections in their own countries, to join hands and, with one voice, express their solidarity with the people of Venezuela in their appeal for an impartial international verification of the true results of their general elections.”
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borell said on Sunday that the bloc “remains extremely concerned” about the aftermath of last month’s polls in the South American country.
In a statement issued on behalf of the EU, Borrell urged the CNE to “publish and independently verify” the voting records or “actas” of all polling stations.
