The Organization of American States (OAS) failed on Wednesday in its attempt to pass a resolution regarding the elections in Venezuela held last Sunday, which sought to urge the National Electoral Council to publish the voting records “immediately.”
It also aimed to declare as “absolute priority” the rights of those who have demonstrated “peacefully” in the streets of Venezuela to protest against the political situation.
The voting concluded with 17 votes in favor, 11 abstentions, and five absences. Among the abstentions were notable votes from Bolivia, Colombia, and Honduras.
The draft resolution titled “On the elections in Venezuela of July 28, 2024” recognized the “substantial and peaceful” participation of Venezuelans last Sunday and demanded that “a comprehensive verification of the results be carried out in the presence of independent observation organizations to ensure the transparency, credibility, and legitimacy of the electoral results.”
This OAS decision occurred during the urgent meeting convened by the organization in Washington following a request from 12 member countries.
Furthermore, the resolution emphasized “the importance of protecting and preserving all equipment used in the electoral process, including the records and printed results, in order to safeguard the entire chain of custody of the voting process.”
The meeting started two and a half hours later than scheduled. Before it began, Panama’s President, José Raúl Mulino, stated that his country would not endorse any resolution in the OAS “that is not wholly useful to arrive at a real and prompt solution to this serious situation caused by the Maduro regime.”
Panama sent its Foreign Minister, Javier Martínez Acha, to represent the country before the Permanent Council of the organization.
Ronald Sanders, President of the OAS Permanent Council, noted at the start of the session that the reason for the delay was a “long consultation” with the foreign ministers from the region present in the room with whom they were “trying to reach” a joint position.
Among the attending foreign ministers were those from Argentina, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Peru.
However, he added, a disagreement over a sentence in a paragraph of the resolution prevented the “full consensus” of the organization on the document that was ultimately approved by voting.
On Tuesday, the OAS Secretary General, Luis Almagro, urged Maduro to acknowledge his defeat in the Venezuelan presidential elections.
“It is imperative to know about Maduro’s acceptance of the records in the hands of the opposition and consequently accept his electoral defeat,” expressed the Secretary General’s office in its first statement regarding the electoral process.
Venezuela left the OAS in April 2019 after President Maduro claimed that the organization had become a “space of imperial domination.”
The Maduro government did not allow the OAS to send a delegation of observers to witness the elections. Only a handful of foreign experts were authorized: a small mission from the United Nations and another from the Carter Center, a U.S. non-governmental organization that promotes democracy.
Mexico did not participate in the OAS meeting, as President Andrés Manuel López Obrador had previously indicated, stating that “there is no evidence” of fraud in the Venezuelan elections.
The president described as irresponsible the OAS statement urging Maduro to “acknowledge his electoral defeat.”
“Before knowing the results, the OAS director, (Luis) Almagro, had already recognized one of the candidates without evidence of anything. So, why go to a meeting like that? That’s not serious, it’s not responsible,” he remarked.
On Wednesday, Maduro stated that he requested the Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela to investigate the results of the disputed presidential elections held on Sunday and affirmed that the government is ready to present all the voting records.
The CNE, also controlled by the government, officially proclaimed Maduro as president on Monday, in his second reelection, granting him a victory of 51% of the votes against 44% of the opposing candidate Edmundo González.
Foreign Ministers Express Discontent with the Situation in Venezuela
The foreign ministers present at the Permanent Council meeting made statements following the vote on the resolution regarding the elections in Venezuela. They agreed that transparency is needed in the disclosure of data and protection for citizens; others lamented the failed vote.
Javier González-Olaechea, Foreign Minister of Peru, criticized the absent votes of 11 delegations, asserting that “deep down it is a lack of will to express that they are in favor of the verification of the votes that, in theory, assign victory to Mr. Maduro.”
The minister stated that such acts are what “lead” citizens to “not believe in democratic systems.” In a speech lasting about half an hour, González-Olaechea asserted that the electoral process in Venezuela “was born fraudulent” following the disqualification of opposition leader María Corina Machado.
In response, the President of the Permanent Council asserted that it was the first time in the OAS that “a minister spoke more than any other joint delegation.”
“I must remind you that this is a multilateral organization and we must show respect to all member states, and countries have the right to vote as they wish, including abstention if that is the desire of the delegation,” Ronald Sanders pointed out.
The Foreign Minister of Paraguay, Rubén Ramírez Lazcano, also expressed “solidarity” with Venezuelan citizens and lamented that the resolution was not approved.
“Ecuador could not remain silent regarding the events that occurred in Venezuela last Sunday, with its painful aftermath of deaths and injuries due to actions perpetrated by authorities of the Caracas regime,” indicated Ecuador’s Foreign Minister, Gabriela Sommerfeld.
On the other hand, Argentina’s Foreign Minister, Diana Mondino, lamented that they gathered to “address the state of democracy and the freedom of Venezuelans who are subjected to abuse, mistreatment, and in many cases, violence.”
“Here, while we look at each other and debate a little sentence or a statement here or there, there are dead people in the streets,” the high official denounced while recalling that “to prevent these abuses is why we have international organizations.”
The Foreign Minister also called for the protection of the six opposition members sheltered in the Argentine Embassy residence in Caracas who, according to her, have been unable to leave the country due to prohibitions from the Maduro government.
Uruguay’s Foreign Minister, Omar Paganini, claimed that this crisis is derived from “an electoral process riddled with flaws, which despite everything could have had a hopeful ending.”
“Everything has ended in the worst way, a president-elect was proclaimed without completing the counting. The original records were never shown, nor was there room for an audit by the opposition or independent entities,” said Paganini.
US Says Maduro “Should Acknowledge the Overwhelming Victory of Edmundo González”
The U.S. Undersecretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Brian Nichols, represented the U.S. at the OAS Permanent Council meeting, where he stated that the evidence “points” to an advantage for opposition candidate Edmundo González and called on President Maduro to “acknowledge the overwhelming” victory.
Nichols asserted that three days after the presidential elections, the period for the Venezuelan government to provide the electoral evidence that led to declaring Maduro’s victory had “expired,” and the reasons “seem clear.”
“Either they know the actual results that show González clearly won the elections, which is why they do not want to share the results; or they know that the actual results show that González clearly won the elections and Maduro needs more time to prepare falsified results to support his false claim,” said the U.S. official.
Nichols concluded by assuring that the international community is closely watching what is happening in Venezuela and lamented the diplomatic crisis caused by the withdrawal of diplomats from several countries in the region.
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