Latin American leaders reject Venezuela election results, declaring, "we demand total transparency"

Latin American leaders have repudiated the announcement by the National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela, which declared the dictator Nicolás Maduro as the winner with 51.2% of the votes, compared to 44% for the opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia.

Numerous governments in the region, through their leaders or spokespersons, have expressed their concern about the results and have questioned the transparency and legitimacy of the electoral process in Venezuela.

Chilean President Gabriel Boric, expressed that the results published by the CNE “are difficult to believe” and that in his country “we will not recognize any result that is not verifiable.”

“The international community and especially the Venezuelan people, including the millions of Venezuelans in exile, demand complete transparency of the minutes and the process, and that international observers not committed to the government account for the veracity of the results,” said.

— Gabriel Boric Font (@GabrielBoric) July 29, 2024

The Government of Costa Rica issued a statement repudiating the proclamation of Maduro as president of Venezuela, describing the electoral process as fraud.

“We will work with the democratic governments of the continent and international organizations to ensure that the sacred will of the Venezuelan people is respected,” he said.

pic.twitter.com/XsrgTS3qbm

— Presidencia de la República 🇨🇷 (@presidenciacr) July 29, 2024

Uruguayan President Luis la Calle Pou said, “The process up to the day of the election and the scrutiny was clearly flawed. You cannot recognize a victory if you do not trust the form and mechanisms used to achieve it.”

Así no! Era un secreto a voces. Iban a “ganar” sin perjuicio de los resultados reales.
El proceso hasta el día de la elección y el del escrutinio claramente estuvo viciado. No se puede reconocer un triunfo si no se confía en la forma y los mecanismos utilizados para llegar a él.

— Luis Lacalle Pou (@LuisLacallePou) July 29, 2024

This collective rejection was joined by Panamanian president José Raúl Mulino, who assured that measures will be announced in accordance with “inter-American rules.”

“Panama joins the general rejection of the electoral result in Venezuela. We aspired for the popular will to be respected and such a situation was unknown,” he said.

Panamá se suma al rechazo generalizado respecto del resultado electoral en Vzla. Aspirábamos a que se respetara la voluntad popular y tal situación fue desconocida. Accionaremos individual y colectivamente a favor de la democracia venezolana. Anunciaremos medidas que adoptaremos…

— José Raúl Mulino (@JoseRaulMulino) July 29, 2024

For his part, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa said there are presidents who try to cling to power and who try to take peace away from citizens. “That is what we face, that is the danger of the dictatorship, and today we are witnessing how one more of them tries to take hope away from millions of Venezuelans.”

Noboa urged his country's foreign minister to take the necessary steps to convene the OAS Permanent Council to address the situation Venezuela is experiencing.

En toda la región, hay políticos que intentan aferrarse al poder y que pretenden arrebatarle la paz a nuestros ciudadanos. Eso es a lo que nos enfrentamos, ese es el peligro de la dictadura, y hoy somos testigos de cómo uno más de ellos intenta arrebatarle la esperanza a millones… https://t.co/mEI2jkhew9

— Daniel Noboa Azin (@DanielNoboaOk) July 29, 2024

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo said that preserving the reports from the electoral observation missions are “essential” in view of the doubts about the electoral results in Venezuela.

Venezuela merece resultados transparentes, certeros y apegados a la voluntad de su pueblo.

Recibimos con muchas dudas los resultados anunciados por el CNE. Por eso, son imprescindibles los informes de las misiones de observación electoral, que hoy más que nunca, deben defender…

— Bernardo Arévalo (@BArevalodeLeon) July 29, 2024