The United States will maintain its unwavering demands for freedom, fundamental human rights, the rule of law and truly fair elections in Venezuela, said Robert O’Brien, Assistant to the President for National Security.
On Saturday, Robert O’Brien, Assistant to the President for National Security, made the statement that the upcoming parliamentary elections in Venezuela will be “fraudulent”.
“Free and fair elections are the foundation of democracy. The illegitimate [President Nicolas] Maduro regime continues to undermine democracy with tomorrow’s fraudulent parliamentary elections. These elections serve only to keep Maduro in power, and do nothing to build a better future for the Venezuelans. The U.S. will maintain its unwavering demands for freedom, fundamental human rights, the rule of law and truly fair elections in Venezuela,” says O’Brien. His words are on Twitter from the White House National Security Council (NSC).
Regular parliamentary elections will be held in Venezuela on 6 December, with 277 members elected (110 more than in the current convocation). The voting will take place against the backdrop of an acute socio-economic crisis and political tension that began in 2015 after the victory of opposition forces in the parliamentary elections.
The situation in Venezuela worsened when, on 23 January 2019, the leader of the opposition, Juan Guaydo, whose appointment as Speaker of Parliament was annulled by the Supreme Court two days earlier, declared himself Acting President. He was recognised as interim head of state by the USA and joined by the Lima Group countries (excluding Mexico), the Organisation of American States and most of the European Union. Maduro called it a coup attempt and announced that he had broken off diplomatic relations with the USA. Russia, Belarus, China, Cuba, Iran, Nicaragua, Syria and Turkey spoke in favour of the coup attempt.