WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) released the following statement today after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was declared the winner in Sunday’s presidential election despite claims of electoral irregularities by the opposition party:
“I am greatly concerned that Venezuela’s National Electoral Council ignored the will of the Venezuelan people and declared President Maduro the winner without releasing the results or voter tallies. Quite frankly, Maduro loyalists are attempting to steal the election in plain sight. I urge the Venezuelan government to commit to full transparency and provide access to polling booth records and tabulations. The Venezuelan people – who have suffered for more than a decade under the Maduro regime, and under former President Hugo Chávez before that – voted peacefully and in large numbers for change, and they deserve to have every vote counted.”
Senator Coons is Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations (SFOPS) and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.