Opposition urges Maduro to agree to a “serious” negotiation to complete transition in Venezuela

The Venezuelan opposition, led by María Corina Machado and former presidential candidate Edmundo González, ruled out participating in a dialogue convened by the government to review the legislation on electoral processes and political parties, and asked to agree on terms for a serious negotiation that would allow “the fluidity of the transition” after the disputed elections last July.

“It is a propaganda exercise (…) the regime intends to impose a structure in the negotiations that is not agreed upon with us, the legitimate democratic forces that won the presidential election; and we do not accept this,” states a statement signed by Machado, González Urrutia and the Democratic Unitary Platform, a coalition of opposition parties.

The opposition recalled that it has made several invitations for “a serious negotiation on the democratic transition” and that its objective is a “peaceful and orderly transition”, whose starting point is respect for sovereignty expressed in elections of July 28, “and the constitutional mandate that establishes that on January 10, Edmundo González Urrutia, takes office” as president of Venezuela.

The minutes kept by the opposition table witnesses and published on a website would show that with 67% of the votes, González Urrutia, currently in “forced exile in Spain,” won the elections.

More than two months after the election, the National Electoral Council (CNE), which proclaimed President Nicolás Maduro as the winner for a third term, has not published the disaggregated results despite demands from the international community that has not recognized him as president-elect.

The opposition leadership affirmed that any attempt to ignore what happened in the presidential elections would constitute a “coup d’état.”

The president of the Venezuelan Parliament with a pro-government majority, Jorge Rodríguez, called on Thursday the political parties that participated in the July 28 elections to a dialogue to review the electoral laws in the country, with the argument of “protecting the Venezuelan population.” and the territory.

“There cannot be a politician who asks for invasions, no. There cannot be a policy that calls for planting bombs, that rejoices in the murder of humble women and men, that dedicate themselves to something else, in the form of prison work, because it is prison that they deserve. We cannot continue with a Law of Political Parties that have become obsolete,” he said.

The government has accused the opposition of seeking to destabilize it through violent acts and, after the elections, arrests of dissidents have increased.

The opposition affirmed that the government’s intentions are “contradictory” with the “repressive wave” unleashed since July 28 and “intensified in recent hours.”

Furthermore, he insisted that the government violated the agreements on electoral guarantees signed in Barbados and stressed that a negotiation process must take place “in a framework duly agreed upon by the parties, with conditions that offer guarantees for all participants.”

“One aspect of said negotiation will be to agree on the guarantees that those defeated in the presidential elections who are willing to facilitate a peaceful departure from power will have,” the statement highlighted.

“An indispensable step for the orderly development of the transition is that those who must abandon power at the will of the electorate and those of us who must assume it, must designate the necessary liaison commissions so that the Executive Branch functions in the most orderly manner, in the transition towards January 10,” the text highlighted.

This week, Machado, winner of the opposition presidential primary, but disqualified from holding public office; He ruled out having any intention of leaving Venezuela and reiterated that Maduro will accept a negotiation to leave power and complete a transition when “the cost of staying is higher” than that of leaving.

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