ST. On Monday, George’s, Grenada, CMC—Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders took a cautious approach to the results of the presidential elections in Venezuela, where officials said the incumbent, Nicolas Maduro, had retained power.
Guyana’s President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that an election has several components, including the operations and arrangements before the polls.
He said other components would include “the elections themselves on election day and, of course, the mechanisms after the election, the mechanisms to ensure that the votes are counted” and “there is a credible process of verification.”
Ali also said there is a need for a credible process “that allows persons to request what the law entertains—recount and so on.
“So those are all the competencies 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 we support in democratic elections,” Ali told CMC.
Guyana and Venezuela have a long-running border dispute, and both countries are now awaiting a ruling from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the matter.
Dominica’s Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit, said that as far as Roseau is concerned, “the entity which oversees and governs the elections in Venezuela has indicated that President Maduro and his party have been re-elected.
“And therefore, we extend our congratulations to President Maduro on his re-election, as we do in all elections anywhere in the world. 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 significant player in the hemisphere from several 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 challenges and, of course, address 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—a close ally of Maduro—with 80 percent of ballots counted, Maduro had 51 percent of the vote, compared to 44 percent 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 70 percent of the votes and insisted he was the rightful president-elect. Opposition parties had united behind González 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 his skepticism 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 has called for the “publication of full, detailed results to ensure that the outcome reflects.
But Prime Minister Skerrit told CMC, “In every country, you will have this issue of free and fair elections. Who won, and who hasn’t won?
“You had that in the United States a few years ago. You know, even today, that millions of Americans 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 there’s a growing phenomenon among opposition parties who seem to have some external support that they don’t need to work. They simply sit at their homes on Facebook or social media or on a radio program, don’t seek to impact the lives of people while in opposition, and believe that some external entity will be able to place them as a government of that country. “
Skerrit described politics as “hard work,” adding that it is about people.
“Politics is about positively impacting people’s lives. Sincere representatives of people’s interests must demonstrate that they do not wait to come into government to do so but do so as part of their life experiences.
“And so you’ll always have those issues. The issues that the people of Venezuela may raise concerning the election and election results are matters that they should be allowed to deal with within their own constitutional and legal framework. “
He reiterated that the electoral entity 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 entity that has reported results,” the Dominican Prime Minister said.
His St. Lucian counterpart, Phillip J Pierre, said he is “very happy that the elections took place” and were free of violence.
“The results that have been declared say that President Maduro has won. I can’t make any firm statement about what is out now. I hope that after all the audits are done, after the independent observers give their reports, you get to a position where the result can be sustained and accepted by the world.
“What’s important is that 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 polls audit show that Maduro has won,
“I think the results should be accepted, and Venezuela should be allowed to operate, as it should operate, to benefit the people of Venezuela.”
Asked whether he believed CARICOM should be commenting on the elections, Pierre replied that the 15-member regional integration grouping has always been a good neighbor to the South American country.
“CARICOM brokered the agreement or 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 to help advance mankind,” he said.
Earlier, St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves said he hopes CARICOM leaders will issue a statement regarding the outcome of the presidential elections in Venezuela.
Gonsalves, a staunch ally of President Maduro, said he has already issued a congratulatory message to the Venezuelan leader and is hoping that CARICOM leaders, who are meeting here for their 47th regular meeting, will do the same.
“Well, I’ve already called the Venezuelan government to congratulate them on Nicolas Maduro’s victory,” Gonsalves told CMC, adding that 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 started the elections.
“Well, I expect most of the CARICOM countries because significant numbers of us are in ALBA, and that statement, which I’ve just approved, would be approved.
Gonsalves told CMC that the history of elections in Venezuela would indicate that they are free and fair, but in the last election, some countries claimed that the polls did not reflect the people’s will.
However, 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.
“Some countries may wish to wait and see. I don’t know, but that certainly will arise sometime today, whether in this morning’s 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.”
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