The Dominican Republic, Chile, Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, the United States, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay jointly rejected this Friday the Supreme Court of Justice announcement (TSJ) of Venezuela, which certified the triumph of President Nicolás Maduro in the elections of July 28.
Spread in unison by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Mirex) and the foreign ministries of the governments of the eleven countries, the statement casts doubt on “the alleged verification of the results of the electoral process of July 28, issued by the National Electoral Council (CNE), which seeks to validate the unsupported results issued by the electoral body.”
Joint Statement on the ruling of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) of Venezuela. pic.twitter.com/iUBudev4wz
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic (@MIREXRD) August 23, 2024
“Our countries had already expressed their disapproval of the validity of the CNE’s declaration, after opposition representatives were denied access to the official count, the non-publication of the minutes and the subsequent refusal to carry out an impartial and independent audit of all of them,” they added.
In line with this argument, they recalled that “the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela warned about the lack of independence and impartiality of both institutions, the CNE and the TSJ.”
“The signatory countries reiterate that only an impartial and independent audit of the votes, which evaluates all the minutes, will guarantee respect for the sovereign popular will and democracy in Venezuela. Like the rest of the international democratic community, we will continue to insist on respect for the sovereign expression of the Venezuelan people who expressed themselves peacefully and forcefully on July 28,” they stressed.
“We also express our deep concern and rejection of the human rights violations perpetrated against citizens who peacefully demand respect for the citizen’s vote and the restoration of democracy,” they concluded.
TSJ and the Opposition in Venezuela
The president of the TSJ, Caryslia Rodríguez, who led the judicial expert opinion of the result, announced this Thursdaythat the Electoral Chamber “validates” the results of the July 28 elections issued by the National Electoral Council.
The largest Venezuelan opposition coalition, the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), ensures that its standard-bearer, Edmundo González Urrutia, won the presidential elections by a wide margin. He also claims that he published “83.5% of the electoral records” to reinforce his claim, backed by several countries and national and international organizations.
