The election of members of the National Constituent Assembly (ANC), which will be charged with amending the Constitution, took place on Sunday in Venezuela.
Over eight million people voted in Venezuela's election Sunday — a turnout of over 41 percent, according to electoral authorities — to choose from 6,120 candidates for the 545-member ANC, pan-Latin American media network teleSur reported.
The 545-member Constituent Assembly will be able to start working as soon as on Wednesday.
MADURO: ONE OF THE HIGHEST VOTER TURNOUTS
President Nicolas Maduro spoke to a large crowd in Caracas and thanked their support to reach peace in the country. Maduro said it was one of the highest voter turnouts of the Bolivarian Revolution with 8,089, 320 voting for their representatives.
"It is the biggest vote the revolution has ever scored in its 18-year history." Maduro was referring to the year his mentor Hugo Chavez came to power.
"Eight million in the middle of threats, there were states where they crossed rivers and mountains, and they voted," Maduro said. "The people of Venezuela have given a lesson on democracy,” he added.
The Venezuelan president repeated that the first step before the legislative body begins the constituent process will be to call, yet again, for a dialogue with the right-wing opposition in the country. Maduro also called on the opposition to abandon violence and return to doing politics, according to teleSUR.
"This election will mark the future years of the independence of Latin America," Maduro said. "Latin America will begin a new wave of struggle."
The right-wing opposition in Venezuela staged strikes on Wednesday and Thursday. The day of the vote itself was marred by violent clashes between protesters and the police. A grenade explosion at a polling station in the city of Valle De La Pascua left six people injured. Ten people were reported killed in the protests that broke out during the vote.
The United States has threatened to impose economic sanctions on Venezuela if it proceeded with the Constitutional Assembly. The sanctions might reportedly target the oil sector, which has the potential to hurt an already struggling economy. The Venezuelan government largely relied on revenues from oil, its major export, to fund social programs. However, the plunging oil prices rattled the country's economy.
Maduro immediately dismissed the US warning of sanctions and emphatically reinstated his position at a rally on Sunday, saying that the Venezuelan government was interested in what its people had to say rather than the opinion of US President Donald Trump.
Bolivian President Evo Morales congratulated Venezuela for its successful National Constituent Assembly election and its efforts to establish peace in the country Monday, criticizing right-wing Latin American countries for rejecting the assembly even before the vote. Morales singled out Colombia, Mexico and Panama, who announced they would not recognise the results of the ANC, describing their behaviour as submissive to the United States.
PERU REFUSES TO RECOGNISE THE RESULTS
The Peruvian government will not recognise the results of the Constituent Assembly election in Venezuela, Peru's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
"Peru invited foreign ministers to hold a meeting on August 8 in our Foreign Ministry’s building to assess the situation in Venezuela after the election to the National Constituent Assembly and the blow it delivered to the democracy in this country," the statement issued on Sunday said. According to the Peruvian Foreign Ministry, representatives of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama and Paraguay are expected to take part in the meeting.
EU PARLIAMENT REFUSES TO RECOGNISE ELECTION RESULTS
The European Parliament has refused to recognise the results of the Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election, and condemned Caracas for numerous violations of the country's constitution and international law, EU Parliament President's press service said Monday.
Venezuela held an election to select members of the Constituent Assembly, a new legislative body with the power to amend the Constitution.
