Petro and Lula insist on the dissemination of the minutes after the Venezuelan Supreme Court endorsed Maduro

The presidents of Brazil and Colombia, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Gustavo Petro, insisted this Saturday, August 24, 2024, on the need to disseminate the electoral records “broken down by voting table”following the endorsement of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) of Venezuela to the victory of Nicolás Maduro.

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“Both presidents remain convinced that the credibility of the electoral process can only be restored through the transparent publication of disaggregated and verifiable data,” said a joint statement from the two countries.

Lula and Petro agreed on a common position on the Venezuelan electoral process after telephone conversations held on Friday and Saturday, according to information released by the Brazilian Presidency.

The two heads of state reaffirmed that “the political normalization of Venezuela” requires “the recognition that there is no lasting alternative to peaceful dialogue and democratic coexistence in diversity.”

They also called on “all those involved to avoid resorting to acts of violence and repression.”

On the other hand, Lula and Petro “took note” of the decision of the Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela to validate Maduro’s victory in the presidential elections of July 28, questioned by a large part of the international community.

In this sense, They reiterated that they are “still awaiting” the publication, by the National Electoral Council (CNE), of “the minutes broken down by voting table.”

The CNE declared Maduro the winner without having published the disaggregated results, while the largest opposition coalition, the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), claims that Edmundo González Urrutia won the contest by a wide margin.

“It is worth recalling the commitments made by the Government and the opposition through the signing of the Barbados Accords, whose spirit of transparency must be respected,” stressed Brazil and Colombia.

The declaration by both countries was expected after the statement released on Friday by eleven American countries (Chile, Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, the United States, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay) in which they rejected the Supreme Court’s endorsement of Maduro.

The governments of those eleven countries questioned the ruling of the Venezuelan court, which they warned of its “lack of independence and impartiality.”

However, Brazil and Colombia did not comment on the Supreme Court’s ruling and instead insisted that they “keep their channels of communication open with the parties” and reinforced “their willingness to facilitate understanding between them.”

Finally, Lula and Petro expressed “their total opposition to the continued application of unilateral sanctions as an instrument of pressure,” which they consider “contrary to international law and harmful to the population of the sanctioned countries.”especially for the most vulnerable sectors.”

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