Pope Francis on Sunday called for Venezuela to ‘seek the truth’ after the disputed re-election of President Nicolas Maduro, warning parties to avoid violence.
The 87-year-old pope, saying Venezuela was undergoing ‘a critical situation’, sent ‘a heartfelt appeal to all parties to seek the truth and exercise moderation to avoid any type of violence.’
Speaking to the crowd gathered at St. Peter’s Square after his traditional Angelus prayer, Francis called on the country ‘to settle disputes through dialogue and have the true interests of the population and not the interests of parties.’
The leaders of seven European Union states called on Venezuela on Saturday to publish its voting records to show the ‘full transparency and integrity of the electoral process’.
The statement, from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Spain expressed ‘strong concern’ about the situation in the country following the contested presidential election.
President Nicolas Maduro has claimed victory in last weekend’s vote, but the opposition has disputed the official result, claiming Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia won.
‘We call on the Venezuelan authorities to promptly publish all voting records,’ read the statement from the seven countries’ leaders.
Such a step was necessary to ‘recognise the will of the Venezuelan people’, it added.
‘The rights of all Venezuelans, especially political leaders, must be respected during this process.
‘We strongly condemn any arrest or threat against them,’ the statement added, saying that authorities should respect the people’s ‘right to protest and assemble peacefully’.
The statement came as thousands of Venezuelans gathered across the country to challenge Maduro’s claim he won the election.
Eleven people have reportedly died and more than 1,000 have been detained in protests that erupted after the country’s CNE election authority, loyal to the president, ratified Maduro’s win on Friday.
That result has already been rejected by countries including the United States and Latin American neighbours Argentina, Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador and Uruguay.
They say available results show the opposition candidate Gonzalez Urrutia was the clear winner.