Morocco was today among 23 nations to call for further scrutiny of Venezuelan electoral results and an end to violence after last month’s disputed victory by Nicolas Maduro claimed 25 lives, dozens of injuries, and more than 2,400 people arrested.
Morocco is the only African country among Latin American and European countries, as well as Canada and the United States, to sign today a joint declaration in the Dominican Republic calling for “common sense and prudence in Venezuela.”
Demands included the immediate release of detainees, publication of all original electoral records and their impartial, independent verification, and the immediate return of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to Venezuela after Maduro’s government suspended it in February.
Since taking office in 2013, Nicolás Maduro has overseen a severe economic collapse, with Venezuela’s GDP plummeting 80 percent over the past decade and more than seven million Venezuelans fleeing the country. His 2018 reelection was widely dismissed as fraudulent by numerous nations.
He was declared the winner of a third term with 52 percent of the vote earlier this month but without detailed results. Opposition claims and international rejection further fueled widespread doubts about the legitimacy of the election.
“Our nations have appealed to dialogue and understanding to resolve serious conflicts in the past. Today, more than ever, Venezuela must honor that legacy to recover peaceful coexistence, public security and political stability, which, according to reports from the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela of the UN Human Rights Council, are being threatened by the Venezuelan security authorities themselves,” said the statement.
Morocco’s foreign minister, Nasser Bourita is currently attending the investiture ceremony of the President of the Dominican Republic Luis Abinader.
