Caribbean leaders cautious about results of Venezuelan elections

By Peter Richards

ST.  GEORGE’S, Grenada (CMC) — CARICOM leaders Monday took a cautious approach towards the results of the presidential elections in Venezuela, where officials there said the incumbent, Nicolas Maduro, had retained power.

Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that an election has a number of components, including the operations and arrangement before the polls.

He said other components would include “the elections itself on election day and of course, the mechanisms after the election, the mechanisms to ensure that the votes are counted” and that “there is a credible process of verification”.

President Dr. irfaan Ali, speaking to CMC at CARICOM’s summit in Grenada on Monday (CMC Photo)

Ali said that there is also the need for a credible process “that allows persons to request what the law entertains — recount and so on.

“So those are all components of the election. We are not pronouncing,  we cannot pronounce one way or the other. As I said, we don’t have details before us. But those are the components that we support in any democratic elections,” Ali told CMC.

Guyana and Venezuela have a long-running border dispute with both countries now awaiting a ruling from the International Court of Justice on the matter.

‘we, from Dominica’s standpoint, extend our congratulations to President Maduro’

Dominica’s Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit, said as far as Roseau is concerned “ the entity which oversees and governs the elections in Venezuela, has indicated that Maduro and his party have been re-elected.

“And therefore, we extend our congratulations as we do in all elections anywhere in the world, our congratulations to President Maduro on his re-election. We look forward to working with him for the next six years on a bilateral and multilateral basis,” he told CMC.

Skerrit said that Venezuela continues to be a very important player in the hemisphere, from a number of vantage points ‘and we congratulate the Venezuelan people for conducting themselves in a largely peaceful and event-free election process.

“And I think democracy will continue to reign and my hope and prayer is that we can all respect the results and continue to work with Venezuela and its people … overcome its own challenges, and of course, working on addressing global issues. And so we, from Dominica’s standpoint, extend our congratulations to President Maduro.”

According to partial results announced by the head of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Elvis Amoroso — who is a close ally of Maduro — with 80% of ballots counted, Maduro had 51% of the vote, compared to 44% for his main rival.

However, the opposition dismissed the CNE’s announcement as fraudulent and promised to challenge the result.

It said its candidate, Edmundo González, had won with 70% of the votes and insisted he was the rightful president-elect. Opposition parties had united behind  González in an attempt to unseat Maduro after 11 years in power.

Western countries have called on Venezuela to ensure that Sunday’s poll was free, fair and transparent.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has expressed scepticism after the result was announced, saying the United States had “serious concerns that the declared outcome does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people”.

In addition, the UK Foreign Office also expressed concern over the results and called for the “publication of full, detailed results to ensure that the outcome reflect”.

But Prime Minister Skerrit told CMC “in every country, you will have this issue of free and fair elections and who won and who hasn’t won?

“I mean, you had that in the United States a few years ago. You know, even today, that there are millions of Americans who believe that President Biden did not win. We believe that President Biden won; we believe that there were free and fair elections in the United States.

“And I think that, you see there’s a growing phenomenon among opposition parties who seem to have some kind of support externally, that they don’t need to work. They simply sit at their homes on Facebook or social media or on a radio programme, don’t seek to impact the lives of people while in opposition and believe that there is some external entity will be able to place them as a government of that country.”

Skerrit described politics as “hard work” adding it is about people.

“Politics is about impacting people’s lives in a positive way. And people who are sincere about representing the interests of people must demonstrate that not to wait to come into government to do so but to do so as part of their life experiences.

“And so you’ll always have those issues. I think the issues which the people of Venezuela may raise in respect to the election and election results, I believe are matters that they should be allowed to deal with and within their own constitutional and legal framework. “

He reiterated that if the electoral entity that is responsible for overseeing elections in Venezuela has indicated that “the elections have been conducted freely and fairly and they have shared the results with not only the Venezuelan people but all of us.

“Who am I to question it, you know? Who am I to question it? And I’m not in a position to question the results. We have to go with the results that have been reported by the entity,” the Dominican prime minister said.

‘Venezuela must have peace’

Skerrit’s St. Lucian counterpart, Phillip J. Pierre said he is “very happy that the elections took place” and had been free of violence.

“The results that have been declared say that President Maduro has won. I can’t make any firm statement, in terms of what is out now is that President Maduro has won. I hope after all the audits are done, after the independent observers give their reports, I’m sure that you get to a position where the result can be sustained and the results can be accepted by the world.

“What’s important is that peace, Venezuela must have peace. Venezuela can’t continue to be in a situation where the people are suffering. And I’ve always made that point, it is the people of Venezuela who suffer”.

He said that if the election observers and the audit of the polls show that Maduro has won, “I think the results should be accepted, and Venezuela allowed to operate, as it should operate, to benefit the people of Venezuela”.

Asked whether he believed that CARICOM should be commenting on the elections, Pierre replied that the 15-member regional integration grouping has always been a good neighbour to the South American country.

“CARICOM is the one that brokered the agreement or the deal between Venezuela and Guyana. So I think CARICOM will have its say. But I guess for now, as far as I’m concerned when all the reports come in, the results will show that the initial remarks or the initial count is correct and Venezuela will be allowed to take its rightful place in the world to do what it must do to help advance mankind,” he said.

Gonsalves congratulates Maduro

Earlier, St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said he was hoping that CARICOM leaders would issue a statement regarding the outcome of the presidential elections in Venezuela.

Gonsalves, a staunch ally of Maduro, said he has already issued a congratulatory message to the Venezuelan leader and was hoping that CARICOM leaders, who are meeting here for their 47th regular meeting, will do so also.

“Well, I’ve already called the Venezuelan government to congratulate them on the victory of Nicolas Maduro,” Gonsalves told CMC, adding, “St. Vincent Grenadines is going to issue its own statement.”

Gonsalves said that the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) has already issued a statement on the elections.

“Well, I expect most of the CARICOM countries, because there are significant numbers of us who are in ALBA and that statement, which I’ve just given approval to. I have no doubt would be approved.”

Gonsalves told CMC that the history of elections in Venezuela would indicate that they are free and fair, but some countries claimed the last election did not reflect ts he will of the people.

But he noted that the US-based Carter Center, for instance, reported that the Venezuelan election machinery is one of the most sophisticated and transparent in the entire world.

“But, you know, politics is taking precedence in some quarters. But St. Vincent and the Grenadines, we are satisfied and from our own people on the ground, including my ambassador in Caracas, I received a report from him last night. So we congratulate Nicolas Maduro on his re-election to the presidency.

“There may be some countries which may wish to wait and see. I don’t know but that certainly will arise sometime today, whether in this morning session or in the caucus this afternoon. But I would like to see CARICOM make a statement congratulating Maduro on his re-election to the presidency. He’s an important partner and he’s important for peace and security in our region, including peace and security on the border with Guyana”.