BOGOTA (Reuters) – A regional bloc comprised mostly of Latin American nations cannot support upcoming legislative elections in Venezuela because President Nicolas Maduro is manipulating the process to wrest control of Congress from the opposition, Colombian leader Ivan Duque said on Friday.
The 14-member Lima Group, which includes countries from across Latin America and the Caribbean as well as Canada, has long called for a transition government and free elections in Venezuela.
The group – together with the United States and European nations – accuses Maduro of manipulating Venezuela’s 2018 presidential contest and refuses to recognize the results. Maduro, in power since 2013 in the oil-rich nation, says he won reelection fairly.
Opening a virtual morning meeting of Lima Group foreign ministers on Friday, Duque said December elections for the national assembly are a bid by Maduro to seize control of the body, the last bastion of opposition power in the OPEC country.
“We cannot support, validate, applaud or recognize this process, which we already know is a fraudulent process meant to continue to silence independent voices,” he said, in comments later echoed by Chile’s foreign minister, who said any Maduro-run electoral process would be fraudulent.
A statement on Friday from members of the group, the European Union and the United States said relief from sanctions on Venezuela could be provided if there was progress towards a transitional government and free elections.
It urged all Venezuelans to back free a presidential contest, saying parliamentary elections are not enough and could lead to more polarization.
Britain called on Venezuela on Friday to establish a transitional government and swiftly hold free presidential elections, due to the impact of COVID-19 on the country.
(Reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
