(Caracas) Pope Francis on Sunday called on Venezuela to “seek the truth,” increasing international pressure on President Nicolas Maduro after his disputed re-election, while the opposition welcomed the request of seven European countries to publish “all” the ballot records.
The pope’s appeal comes as many countries are demanding that Caracas publish the minutes of each polling station in the July 28 election, which the opposition claims victory in.
The unrest that followed Mr Maduro’s inauguration as president left 13 people dead (11 civilians, 2 members of the security forces), while more than 2,000 people were arrested, according to human rights organisations.
The 87-year-old pope, who is originally from Argentina, addressed the crowd in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican and made “a sincere appeal to all parties to seek the truth and avoid any type of violence,” adding that Venezuela was going through a “critical situation.”
PHOTO MAXWELL BRICENO, REUTERS ARCHIVES
Nicolas Maduro
Francis also called on the country to “resolve disputes through dialogue and to take into account the real interests of the people and not the interests of the parties.”
The National Electoral Council (CNE) ratified on Friday the victory of President Maduro with 52% of the vote against 43% for Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who replaced at short notice the leader of the opposition Maria Corina Machado, declared ineligible.
Claiming to be the victim of computer hacking, the CNE, which the opposition accuses of being subservient to the government, has still not given the details of the vote office by office.
“Verification of minutes”
The opposition believes that this is a maneuver to avoid revealing the real results, and has published the minutes of each office on a website.
According to these documents, the validity of which is rejected by Mr Maduro, Mr Gonzalez Urrutia won the election with 67% of the vote.
Mme Machado, on Sunday, thanked the seven European countries, including France, which the day before asked Venezuela, in a joint statement, to “quickly publish all the minutes” of the polling stations, welcoming their “commitment to democracy.”
“We support the request for verification of the reports that we have presented, as soon as possible, at an international and independent level,” Mr.me Machado.
“We also appreciate the call for an end to the persecution and repression that, in recent hours, has been cruelly deployed against innocent people who are only asking for respect for the popular sovereignty that they exercised on Sunday,” she added.
The United States, which maintains its sanctions against Venezuela, believes that there is “overwhelming evidence” of a victory for Mr. Gonzalez Urrutia.
Russia and China, traditional allies of Caracas, support Mr. Maduro.
Countries such as Brazil, Colombia and Mexico are more cautious, insisting on a political solution to the crisis.
Speaking to thousands of supporters on Saturday night, Mr Maduro warned that he would not allow the opposition to “usurp the presidency again”.
A way of recalling that after his already controversial re-election in 2018, part of the international community had recognized the opponent Juan Guaidó as interim “president” in 2019. An initiative that ended in failure.
Several countries have recognized Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as “president-elect.”
Wanting to be firm, Mr. Maduro also assured that “military and police patrols are maintained throughout Venezuela to protect the people.”
Mme Machado, who said on Thursday that she was living “in hiding” and “fearing for her life”, nevertheless promised Saturday during a rally in the capital to continue the fight: “We are not going to leave the streets,” she said before getting on a motorbike and disappearing at full speed towards her place of refuge.