Leaders of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) have congratulated Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on “is victory and re-election to the Presidency of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela for a third term.”
In a statement Monday, issued following the 75th meeting of the OECS Authority held virtually last weekend, the sub-regional leaders said that they discussed the July 28 poll and “expressed their commitment to the holding of free and fair elections in every member of the global community as the surest expression of the will of the people.
“We stand on the principle that elections must be free as the expression of the will of the people and free from outside interference and they must be fair – contested in good faith and subject to the adjudication of independent mechanisms with relevant safeguards for verification and arbitration of any dispute, all within the framework of the national laws and regulations governing the conduct of elections,” the OECS leaders said in their statement.
“We congratulate President Nicolás Maduro Moros, on his victory and re-election to the Presidency of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela for a third term and urge that every effort be made towards national reconciliation,” they said, adding “the OECS further expresses its appreciation of the invaluable solidarity and friendship extended by Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela which has flourished for over two decades”.
The opposition parties have accused Maduro of stealing the election and have also disputed the figures so far released by the National Electoral Council (CNE).
The opposition parties are being supported by the United States and several western countries, while Muduro has received congratulations from China, Russia, Iran, Cuba, Honduras, Nicaragua, Bolivia and some Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries. (CMC)
