PORT OF SPAIN,Trinidad,Jul. 3,CMC -Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has weighed in on the recent election in Venezuela saying that “outsiders” who attempt to forcibly change the government of the South American nation are only asking for trouble.
“When the United States, Canada and the European Union decided to change the Government in Venezuela by force, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Mexico ,Uruguay all took objection because a bad situation was about to get worse. We believe that as we do believe now, that any attempt to forcibly change the Govenrment of Venezuela by outsiders is asking for trouble, yet unknown……” said Rowley who was speaking during a meeting of the ruling People’s National (PNM) late Friday.
He noted that his administration was happy that Venezuela had recent elections, but warned that there are those who have an agenda.
“We were happy that elections were held in Venezuela as we have a functioning embassy there and we get reports as to what the situation is in Venezuela. What we have to be careful with, is that we don’t take advise from people whose agenda and interests are not the same as Trinidad and Tobago.”
Concerning the outcome of the poll, Rowley said : “We are still listening. We have no barometer Separate and apart from the government’s institution there, we maintain our position until there is reason to change it . We are not without some interest in what goes in Venezuela. Whatever role we have to play, we will play in the context of our understanding of and confirmation of the rules and regulations that govern people’s internal elections. We in Trinidad and Tobago had an election, what did the oppositon do ?They went to court and said they wanted five seats cancelled because the election was not properly held. Of course they lost…….so, if there are challenges to the election in Venezuela we will observe the facts as they surface……”he said
On July 29 – a day after the Venezuelans went to the polls, the electoral authorities declared President Nicolás Maduro the winner in thr presidential election while the opposition claimed victory in the race, setting up a showdown.
After electoral authorities declared Maduro the winner, opposition candidate Edmundo González said all rules were violated.
González, a former diplomat who had never run for public office, questioned the legitimacy of the National Electoral Council (CNE) which is seen by the opposition as favoring the ruling party.
Since then, protestors have taken to the streets demanding that Maduro acknowledges that he lost Sunday’s election to the opposition, as a major international observer concluded the vote was undemocratic.
The U.S.-based Carter Center, which observed the vote, said in a statement that the election “did not meet international standards of electoral integrity and cannot be considered democratic.”
The electoral authority’s failure to publish disaggregated results amounts to a “serious breach,” it added, outlining what it determined to be a deeply flawed process from start to finish.
Many countries have called on Venezuela to make the vote tally public and U.S. sources said Washington was considering fresh sanctions on individuals linked to the election unless there was greater transparency.
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