Georgia Questions Legitimacy of Nicolas Maduro as President of Venezuela

The Georgian Foreign Ministry has renounced the legitimacy of Nicolas Maduro as President of Venezuela, following in the footsteps of the international community.

Maduro was inaugurated for the second time on 10January. His term in office will now run until 2025.

The international community widely condemned Maduro’s re-election in May 2018. Numerous organisations and experts highlighted the problem of coercion, electoral rigging and fraud.

The Foreign Ministry of Georgia stated “the elections in Venezuela were conducted in an unequal, unfair and non-democratic environment. Georgia has many times expressed a critical position regarding the violation of election and other rights of the Venezuelan people. Georgia joins the international community and condemns actions which aim to further complicate humanitarian crisis and encourage violence.”

Venezuela is one of the five countries in the world to recognise Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent regions. De facto governors or Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) attended the inauguration ceremony.

By Amy Jones

Photo source: stabroeknews