Russia says US interference not decreasing in Venezuela
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The Venezuelan elections held two months ago continue to stir criticism against the US and its allies for refusing Nicolas Maduro's victory.
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This handout picture provided by the Iranian presidential office shows Russia's Secretary of the Security Council Nikolai Patrushev attending a meeting with the Iranian president in Tehran on November 9, 2022. (AFP)
US interference in Venezuelan affairs is not decreasing, Russian presidential aide Nikolai Patrushev said in an interview with Izvestia Daily.
This comment comes after Patrushev described another "failed coup attempt in that country," adding that "Washington is offering Nicolas Maduro early resignation, pledging in exchange to renounce his further prosecution in line with American laws."
US and European lawmakers declared opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez as the rightful victor of the recent presidential elections that were held at the end of July, denouncing Maduro's re-election and pledging to hold him accountable if he refuses to surrender his power.
In contrast, Moscow stated that the Venezuelan opposition must admit defeat, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warning against third-world countries' support of destabilizing the Latin American nation's situation.
Venezuelan electoral council refutes UN report on election
On Wednesday, Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) condemned the Preliminary Report presented by the UN Panel of Experts on the Venezuelan presidential elections held on July 28.
The CNE had announced incumbent President Nicolas Maduro as the winner with 52% of votes, but the results have been met with rejection from the opposition, the United States, the European Union, and several Latin American countries.
Maduro's win also sparked nationwide Western-backed riots and violence, which left dozens killed, injured, and detained.
The report published Tuesday by the Panel of Experts found that the CNE "fell short of the basic transparency and integrity measures."
In a statement, the CNE described the report as "illegal and contrary to the UN principles, violating the terms of reference agreed upon with this Constitutional Power, and, above all, filled with lies and contradictions."
The CNE pointed out that the publication of a report was not within the panel's functions and "demonstrates the perverse political intent of this dissemination, consisting of fallacious and distorted arguments."
It explained that according to the terms of reference agreed upon between the UN and the CNE, "The Panel is not an observation mission and, therefore, will not issue any public statement or judgment on the process and/or the outcome of the elections."
The Venezuelan electoral council slammed the content of the panel's report as a "pamphlet" that included "poor and easily refutable arguments."
Refuting the allegations presented in the report, the CNE denied last-minute changes to polling stations, affirming that "no case or complaint was presented to support this lie."
The statement said that the Panel of Experts admitted that the data transmission process was interrupted after the polls closed, but cast doubt that the CNE platform was subject to a cyberattack from the evening of July 28 till this day and claimed that no information or explanation was provided regarding the matter.
UN experts 'undermine credibility and reliability of UN'
"Not only has precise information about this attack been provided since that very night, but national and international companies and specialists have confirmed what happened, and, moreover, the terrorists themselves have claimed responsibility for these crimes on various social networks, extending them later to other areas of the Venezuelan state," the CNE explained.
It confirmed that despite the delay in the transmission of the election's results, it applied contingency protocols, achieving an 80% transmission of records, "with an irreversible result in favor of candidate Nicolas Maduro."
The CNE further added that the delivery of the results could not be carried out due to continuous attacks on online dissemination platforms.
Moreover, the electoral council accused the panel of "shamelessly" attempting to "validate the scam published by the campaign team of one of the candidates, which clearly shows the political agenda guiding them and the interests they serve."
"These ‘experts’ engage in an illegal act by validating alleged records from unofficial sources," it said.
In its statement, the CNE considered that the experts "undermine the credibility and reliability of the United Nations while mocking the trust placed in them by its member states."
Elsewhere, Venezuela's National Electoral Council reaffirmed to the national and international community that "despite the unjustifiable attacks on our electoral system and our good faith, the truth will prevail over slander."
