OAS has demanded a recall referendum in Venezuela; the OAS regional block released a statement, in which the fifteen member states have demanded that the state of Venezuela acts and carries out the referendum this year, and without delay.
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On August 11, fifteen OAS member states released a joint statement, in which they demanded, from the state of Venezuela, to create an internal dialogue and to allow, without delay, an opposition-led bid to hold a presidential recall referendum against President Nicolás Maduro, and therefore, guarantee constitutional rights for Venezuelans.
“We are asking the Venezuelan authorities to guarantee the exercise of the constitutional rights of the Venezuelan people, and in order to realize the presidential recall referendum, the remaining steps have to be pursued concretely, clearly, and without delay. This way, they will contribute to the effective and quick resolution of the current economic, social, and political issues in the country,” said the statement.
The states that signed the statement, include: U.S.A., Canada, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Colombia, Paraguay, Brazil, Panama, Guatemala, Uruguay, Belize, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Chile.
Bernardo Álvarez, Venezuelan Ambassador to the OAS, had said that the statement was “anti-diplomatic” and “irregular”. He had also said: “This is perhaps one more test of how divided the organization is, and that there is a desire to intervene in the internal affairs of Venezuela.”
Furthermore, the Venezuelan government is encouraged to have OAS fostered dialogues with the opposition; however, the Venezuelan government claims that this process is difficult, due to the extensive list of preconditions given by the opposition.
In addition, the Congress of Peru has accused the Government of Venezuela of allegedly violating “democratic principles and suppressing opposition”, and passed Resolution 103, which urges the President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski to send a delegation to Venezuela. The role of the delegation would be to assess the current conditions of the Peruvian people living in Venezuela, and to see if any of them wish to return to their homeland.
Prior to the OAS statement, Tibisay Lucena, President of the CNE, stated that the Venezuelan opposition will be allowed to continue the collection of signatures for the support of a recall referendum; in order for the recall referendum to be officially authorized, the opposition needs to gather around four million signatures from Venezuela’s voters.
by Ana Vugrinec
