BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th March, 2019) The International Contact Group (ICG) on Venezuela suggested that Venezuelan parties should reach an agreement on the basis of a road map for holding a new presidential election in order to resolve the current crisis in the Latin American country.
"The solution to the crisis lies in giving the voice back to the people in democratic elections, in line with international standards. According to the findings and conclusions of the working group on electoral process, the conduct of such electoral process towards new presidential elections should include an agreement amongst all relevant actors on the basis of an agreed roadmap," the group said in a ministerial declaration on the results of its meeting in Quito on Thursday.
It suggested that the plan should enable re-institutionalization of "key state institutions;" giving guarantees to all politicians and parties that they would be allowed to run in the elections; voter register update; and changing electoral legislation to allow international observers monitor the process.
"The ICG, if requested, is ready to assist in a future electoral process through confidence-building measures such as the deployment of and support to election observation missions, international auditing of the electoral ICT systems and/or a revised voter register, and any other support actions that would be deemed necessary to implement an agreement leading to free, credible and transparent elections," the declaration argued.
The ICG was set up in February with an aim to facilitate the resolution of the crisis in Venezuela, which erupted in the wake of opposition leader Juan Guaido's self-proclamation as the country's "interim president."
While Guaido was backed by the United States and a number of their allies, Russia and China, among other states, supported Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who accused Guaido of trying to orchestrate a coup to overthrow him with the help of Washington.
