The International Contact Group on Venezuela has said that it does not recognize pro-government lawmaker Luis Parra's election as the new speaker of the National Assembly, the Venezuelan parliament, a press release published on Thursday read
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th January, 2020) The International Contact Group on Venezuela has said that it does not recognize pro-government lawmaker Luis Parra's election as the new speaker of the National Assembly, the Venezuelan parliament, a press release published on Thursday read.
The group, which features 12 countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany and several Latin American states, expressed concern with the manner in which the vote to elect the assembly's new speaker was conducted. Many lawmakers were prevented from accessing parliament for the ballot, the press release published on the European External Action Service website stated.
"In this context, the election of Luis Parra cannot be considered legitimate nor democratic," the press release read.
The group also reinstated that it supported Juan Guaido, who proclaimed himself as interim president of Venezuela in early 2019, as the speaker of the National Assembly.
On Sunday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced that the parliament had elected Parra to the post of speaker for 2020-21. The president said that Guaido's supporters had requested that the parliament building be cordoned off during the session when the election took place, which prevented Guaido from attending it.
On the same day, opposition lawmakers gathered at an office of a local newspaper and voted to re-elect Guaido as the speaker of the National Assembly. Guaido has vowed to take back control of the Venezuelan National Assembly in the days after his election defeat.
In January 2019, Guaido declared himself as interim president and received the backing of the United States who imposed a series of sanctions on Venezuela and froze the US-based assets of state oil company PDVSA. Some European nations followed suit by cutting off the government's access to foreign assets.
Maduro, in turn, called Guaido a US puppet and accused Washington of staging a coup to take over his country's resources, specifically the world's largest proven oil reserves. More than 50 countries, including Russia, China and Turkey have said they recognize Maduro as the only legitimate president of Venezuela.
