The Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) has scheduled an emergency meeting for this Wednesday to discuss the results of the Venezuelan elections at the request of a dozen member countries.
The meeting will take place on July 31 at 3:00 PM EDT (7:00 PM GMT) in the Simón Bolívar Room at the OAS headquarters in Washington, D.C. The urgent session was called at the request of twelve member countries, including the seven Latin American governments whose diplomatic personnel were ordered to withdraw from Caracas by Nicolás Maduro.
The meeting was convened "at the request of the Permanent Missions of Argentina, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, United States, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, and Uruguay."
In recent hours, the Venezuelan government has demanded that Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, Dominican Republic, and Uruguay immediately withdraw their representatives from Venezuelan territory in retaliation for expressing concerns about irregularities in the elections.
So far, the OAS has not commented on the elections, amidst the international community's and the Venezuelan opposition's rejection of the results announced by the National Electoral Council (CNE), which declared Nicolás Maduro the winner.
Election Results and Controversies
The OAS meeting this Wednesday will be broadcast live on its website, as well as on its Facebook and YouTube accounts. The session will also feature interpretation in Spanish, English, French, and Portuguese.
In its initial report early Monday morning, the CNE announced that Nicolás Maduro won with 51.20% of the votes, compared to 44.20% for opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, with 80% of the votes counted.
Opposition leader María Corina Machado rejected the official results, claiming that the "newly elected president" is the candidate of the Democratic Unity Platform (PUD), asserting that with more than 40% of the ballots transmitted, the PUD candidate received 70% of the votes, while Maduro only garnered 30%.
CNE President Elvis Amoroso announced the results more than six hours after the polling stations closed, citing an attack on the data transmission system that will be investigated, which caused the delay in announcing the winner.
In recent hours, Venezuela has experienced increasing instability, marked by protests, the toppling of Chávez statues, and other incidents that reveal the discontent among a significant portion of the populace with the election outcome.
FAQs About OAS Emergency Meeting on Venezuelan Elections
Here are some commonly asked questions and answers regarding the emergency meeting called by the OAS to address the controversial election results in Venezuela.
Why did the OAS call for an emergency meeting?
The OAS called for an emergency meeting to discuss the controversial results of the Venezuelan elections, following requests from twelve member countries concerned about irregularities.
Which countries requested the OAS meeting?
The meeting was requested by Argentina, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, United States, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, and Uruguay.
What was the result announced by the CNE?
The CNE announced that Nicolás Maduro won the election with 51.20% of the votes, compared to 44.20% for opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia.
How did the opposition react to the election results?
Opposition leader María Corina Machado rejected the official results, claiming that the candidate from the Democratic Unity Platform actually won with 70% of the votes.