UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th December, 2020) The United Nations will not take a position on the legitimacy of Venezuela's parliamentary election but will continue encouraging political dialogue, spokesman Stephan Dujarric told reporters on Monday.
"We had no involvement in the organization of these elections," Dujarric said during a daily briefing. "From our end, the Secretariat is not going to pronounce itself on the legitimacy of the new legislative bodies. We will continue to interact with all political actors and keep advocating for serious negotiations."
More than 100 political parties and associations participated in Venezuela's parliamentary election on Sunday. The opposition bloc led by Juan Guaido, a failed coup leader who is backed by the United States, refused to take part in the election. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo denounced the vote as a "charade which failed to meet any minimum standard of credibility."
Dujarric said that Venezuela's government asked for electoral observation, but the UN couldn not accede to the request as there was no mandate from the country's legislative body. He advocated the political dialogue "with full respect for human rights and the rule of law" as the only way to resolve Venezuela's "many challenges."
