Secretary General’s Statement on Venezuela

When 106 nations met in Poland 24 years ago and adopted the Warsaw Declaration, among the farsighted principles contained in the document was “the obligation of an elected government to refrain from extra-constitutional actions, to allow the holding of periodic elections and to respect the results, and to relinquish power when its legal mandate ends.”

Despite Venezuela’s adoption of the Warsaw Declaration in 2000, the conduct of this year’s election by Nicolás Maduro has undeniably violated the commitment to democracy, the rule of law and the electoral will of the Venezuelan people. The opposition, led by Edmundo González Urrutia and María Corina Machado, has decisively won the election, demonstrating the power of the peaceful exercise of the right to choose their president despite an electoral process that was not considered free and fair.

Throughout his increasingly dictatorial rule, President Maduro saw more than seven million of his citizens flee their homes in one of the most significant population displacements in history.  The people of Venezuela chose the nonviolent option of the ballot box to demand an end to his policies, and he is wrong to deny this clear decision.

It is imperative that democracies in the region and around the world recognize the electoral victory of Edmundo González Urrutia and come together to encourage a peaceful and just resolution to this latest crisis, offering hope for a better future for the people of Venezuela.