Brazil, Colombia urge fresh Venezuela elections

The presidents of Brazil and Colombia called Thursday for fresh elections in Venezuela after international condemnation of last month's vote the opposition says was stolen by strongman Nicolas Maduro.

The two South American leaders, who spoke on the phone Wednesday to discuss a possible political way forward from Venezuela's post-election crisis, independently urged Maduro to consider a new election.

But Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said it would show "a lack of respect" for the popular will already expressed on July 28.

If Maduro "is sensible," said Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, "he could try to appeal to the people of Venezuela, perhaps even organize elections."

Lula told a Brazilian radio station there should be "criteria for participation of all candidates" in a new election, which should "allow observers from all over the world."

For his part, Colombian President Gustavo Petro called on X for the lifting of all sanctions against Caracas, a "general national and international amnesty," "new, free elections" and a "transitional cohabitation government."

From Washington, US President Joe Biden signalled he would back such a move, but hours later the White House walked back his comment.

- 'Absurdity of Maduro' -

Asked by a reporter whether he supported the idea of fresh Venezuelan elections, the US leader replied: "I do."

But the White House later suggested Biden meant something more general.

"The president was speaking to the absurdity of Maduro and his representatives not coming clean about the July 28 elections," a spokesman said, adding it was "abundantly clear" that opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia had won.

Machado, who was replaced on the ballot by a proxy after being barred from seeking election by Maduro-friendly state institutions, told a virtual press conference Thursday "to ignore what happened on July 28 shows a lack of respect for Venezuelans" who voted "in very adverse conditions where there was fraud and we still managed to win."

Venezuela's CNE electoral council proclaimed Maduro the winner of a third, six-year term, giving him 52 percent of votes cast but without providing a detailed breakdown of the results.

The opposition says polling station-level results show Gonzalez Urrutia, a 74-year-old retired diplomat, defeated Maduro by a wide margin.

Gonzalez Urrutia himself reaffirmed Thursday on X that he had won the election "by an overwhelming majority."

Gonzalez Urrutia and Machado have been in hiding since the president accused them of seeking to foment a "coup d'etat" and demanded they be jailed.

Anti-Maduro protests have claimed 25 lives so far, with dozens injured and more than 2,400 arrested.

Maduro's victory claim has been rejected by the United States, European Union and several Latin American countries.

Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, meanwhile, insisted Thursday the dispute was "up to the Venezuelans to resolve."

- Legislative offensive -

Maduro has previously rejected the possibility of new elections and asked the country's highest court, also viewed as loyal to him, to certify the outcome.

Meanwhile, Venezuela's legislature on Thursday approved a law to regulate the registration and funding of NGOs described by Maduro's regime as a "facade for the financing of terrorist actions."

The law is part of several under consideration in the regime-friendly National Assembly that critics say are meant to criminalize opponents of the strongman.

National Assembly president Jorge Rodriguez has indicated he would also seek to ban future election observation missions from foreign countries.

The vast majority of the 277 lawmakers in the single-chamber National Assembly are loyal to Maduro, who had warned of a "bloodbath" if he lost his reelection bid.

United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights have urged lawmakers not to pass laws they said would limit democratic freedoms.

Rights activists in Venezuela on Thursday raised the alarm over the NGO law, which they said would "deepen the persecution" of Maduro critics.

Since coming to power in 2013, Maduro has presided over an economic collapse that has seen more than seven million Venezuelans flee the country as GDP plunged 80 percent in a decade.

His previous reelection, in 2018, was also rejected as a sham by dozens of countries.