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Most countries recognize the legitimacy of the Venezuelan elections despite the smear campaign prompted by the United States and its allies.
World presidents and political actors Monday sent their congratulations to the Venezuelan government for the parliamentary elections in which the leftist coalition Great Patriotic Pole (GPP) had a resounding victory.
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"Chavism won the elections. This is a victory for the Bolivarian revolution and the people. The support for President Nicolas Maduro is a tribute to Commander Hugo Chavez. This sister Caribbean island sends its sincere congratulations," Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel tweeted.
The head of the Russian delegation of observers in Venezuela's elections, Igor Ananskij, also praised the victory of the coalition as he emphasized the tranquility and security with which the country passed the day of the elections.
"The most important result of these elections is that Venezuela now has a legitimate National Assembly. It was expected that the ruling party would get a majority of the seats in Parliament," Ananskij pointed out.
Today Venezuela "lives a new hope. We hope that the political crisis caused by the U.S. growing hostilities will end and the government will boost the country's economic development," Ananskij added.
Russia was also one of the first countries to condemn the U.S. and the European Union (EU) calls to not recognize or boycott Venezuela's elections.
No bodyguards, @jaarreaza walks towards the nearby cafe to greet people & speak to them. Spontaneous, warm, natural, talking to him like a friend. calling him Jorge by his name. Never seem this anywhere when officials remain part of the society that protect them #Venezuela pic.twitter.com/Ro6WSRGOHf
— Elijah J. Magnier (@ejmalrai) December 6, 2020
"The elections are a political reality. Ignoring them is meaningless. The Latin American country is an example of democratic strength," Russia's Foreign Affairs Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova assured.
The Basque Country also praised the GPP for its victory. "Neither the blockade nor the boycott sponsored by the Empire stopped Venezuela's democratic course. Today peace, democracy, the people triumphed," Sortu party's Secretary Arkaitz Rodriguez tweeted.
Spain's former President Jose Rodriguez Zapatero, who took part as an observer of the electoral process, called on the international community not to follow the U.S. nefarious policy against the Latin American country.
"Neither sanctions nor blockades are the answer. There is no better path than democracy. There will be no better tool for solving problems than dialogue and coexistence," Rodriguez Zapatero stressed, adding that December 6 "is the beginning of the end of the worst moments that Venezuela has experienced, marked by unjust and incomprehensible sanctions."
In Venezuela, there is a deep-rooted culture of voting. For over 20 years, most Venezuelans have gone to the polls to settle their political differences.
However, in contrast to previous elections, "this December 6, the extremist opposition sector led by Juan Guaido, the self-proclaimed president, decided not to take part. This, the unprecedented campaigns of discredit against Venezuela encourage by Washington, and the COVID-19 pandemic motivated a decrease in voter participation," Iguana TV explained.
.@GloriaLaRiva reporting for Liberation News from Caracas, Venezuela on tomorrow's National Assembly elections. Spirits are high among supporters of the Bolivarian Revolution! pic.twitter.com/3cFO50i1ns
— Party for Socialism and Liberation (@pslweb) December 6, 2020
While in 2015 the participation reached 75 percent, a historical figure for this type of election, the 2020 elections had a 30 percent turnout. However, Western governments are holding on to these numbers to call the elections illegitimate.
"Some European right-wing politicians are now rampaging against Nicolas Maduro's government, especially from Germany. Yesterday there were parliamentary elections in Romania. The participation was the same as in Venezuela, with the difference that the European country did not suffer sanctions, nor boycott. Let's have a coherence!" Venezuela's Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Arreaza condemned.
Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne joined the U.S. call not to recognize the result of the parliamentary elections.
"The ridicule syndrome of the Trump era is contagious. Now Canada also thinks it is Venezuela's electoral tribunal. That country despises International Law," Arreaza responded.
Chile's government announced that it will continue to support the Lima Group, the association of nations that has declared itself openly hostile to Venezuela.
"There was no independent electoral authority, no free political parties, no foreign observers," Chilean Foreign Affairs Minister Andres Allamand said, without mentioning that nearly 1,500 observers and 300 representatives from over 34 countries took part in this Sunday's elections.
Allamand's statements show "the cynicism of a government whose president has the support of only 6 percent of the population. While in Chilean Police (Carabineros) brutally repress the people every day, Venezuela voted in peace," Venezuelan Ambassador to the United Kingdom (U.K.) Alicia Castro tweeted.
Colombian President Ivan Duque also tried to look good in the eyes of Washington by calling Venezuela's process "a fraud of Maduro's dictatorial regime, which seeks to prolong its usurpation of power."
That’s how real meddling in the elections process looks like. “Despite such a brazen two-years-long U.S. campaign, citizens of Venezuela yesterday confirmed that they want to decide their future themselves. ‘Project Guaido’ is nearing its inglorious end,” First Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations (UN) Dmitry Polyanskiy assured.
The US and Colombia failed to deliver any USAID goods to Venezuela today.
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) February 24, 2019
However, staged operations were pulled off in an effort to blame Venezuela's government. pic.twitter.com/7pvR0EjtqQ
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