Venezuela elections: Several countries, including Morocco, call for restraint, wisdom, dialogue

Several countries, including Morocco as the sole African State, have launched a strong appeal for wisdom and restraint in Venezuela. “At this decisive juncture for Venezuela and the region, all social and political actors must exercise the utmost restraint in their public actions,” said the signatory countries in a joint statement issued at a meeting in Santo Domingo de Guzmán, Dominican Republic.

Morocco was the only African country among Latin American and European countries, as well as Canada, the United States and the European Union, to sign the joint declaration in the Dominican Republic calling for “common sense and prudence in Venezuela.”

Violence gripped Venezuela following the Presidential elections that declared Nicolás Maduro winner of a third term with 52 percent of the vote. The National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela has not presented the electoral records that substantiate the validity of the results announced on August 2. Meanwhile, a digital version of more than 80% of the electoral records has been published, showing a different outcome than that reported by the CNE. Opposition claims and international rejection further fueled widespread doubts about the legitimacy of the election, as was the case in 2018 when his reelection was widely dismissed as fraudulent by numerous nations.

“We urge for the respect of democratic principles, as well as the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Venezuelans, particularly the freedom of peaceful assembly and the freedom of expression. We are concerned that this reality currently does not exist in Venezuela,” stated the joint statement, citing reports of alarming arbitrary detentions of Venezuelans without due process.

The signatories expressed deep condemnation of the repression of protesters and the violence that has claimed the lives of many Venezuelans in the post-election context, and urged Venezuelan authorities to end the violence and release all those who have been detained, including opposition representatives.

The signatories also requested the publication of all original electoral records and their impartial, independent verification, as any delay in this process, the statement said, calls into question the August 2, 2024, official proclamation. They likewise called for the immediate return of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to Venezuela after Maduro’s government suspended it in February.
“The current situation calls for a broad, inclusive, and good-faith dialogue to facilitate a political agreement that fosters national reconciliation, peace, public security and democracy in Venezuela, the signatories stated, vowing to support all efforts in this direction, and urging for a genuinely Venezuelan solution in which democracy and justice, and peace and security will prevail.

Since taking office in 2013, Nicolás Maduro has overseen a severe economic collapse, with Venezuela’s GDP plummeting 80 percent over the past decade and more than seven million Venezuelans fleeing the country.

Morocco’s foreign minister, Nasser Bourita, who signed the joint statement on behalf of Morocco, was attending the investiture ceremony of the President of the Dominican Republic Luis Abinader.