The 12 Latin American countries that make up the so-called “Lima Group” demanded on Tuesday an “independent audit” of the entire Venezuelan electoral process.
In a joint statement, the governments of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay and Peru
believe it’s urgent that an independent audit of the entire electoral process be carried out, with the accompaniment of specialized and recognized international observers.”
The text adds that this seeks
to clarify the controversy generated on the results of said elections and know the true pronouncement of the Venezuelan people.”
The Venezuelan government won 17 of the 23 governorships in dispute.
Although it had 20 governorships before the elections this Sunday, the government of Nicolás Maduro sees the result as a great victory, as the polls showed the opposition was a clear favorite in these elections.
The Lima Group was created last August in the Peruvian capital, in an act during which its members condemned the breach of the democratic order in Venezuela and ignored the Constituent Assembly promoted by President Nicolás Maduro, whose election in July was accused of fraudulent by the opposition, and unrecognized by governments in America and Europe.
The United States, France and the European Union (EU) had already expressed their concern about the absence of free elections.
The Venezuelan opposition, which wiped out parliamentarians in 2015, seems to have lost support from their followers, disappointed after failing to get Maduro out of power with four months of protests that left 125 dead between April and July.