The Venezuelan government is willing to hear the opinion of the population on the issue of holding snap parliamentary elections, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said on Sunday.
“In order to answer your question whether elections will be held or not, we can consult with the people through the mechanism developed by the Constituent Assembly […] Of course, we call for solving all problems peacefully, by establishing dialogue and resolving issues at the electoral level”, Rodriguez told journalists.
On 26 January, European countries issued an ultimatum to Maduro, saying that he had eight days to organize elections or they would recognize self-proclaimed president and opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country’s leader.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro confirmed Saturday his previously voiced support for early elections to the opposition-controlled National Assembly.
Earlier on Wednesday, Maduro said that he would welcome snap parliamentary elections in the country as this would be a “very good form of political discussion”.
Venezuela is currently going through a political crisis, with Juan Guaido, the head of the opposition-controlled Venezuelan National Assembly, having declared himself the country’s interim president on January 23. Mexico, Uruguay, and Russia were among those states that voiced their support for incumbent President Nicolas Maduro as the only legitimate leader.
Mexico and Uruguay are planning to convene a conference on Venezuela on February 7 in the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo to lay the foundation for the creation of a new dialogue mechanism that would contribute to the return of stability and peace in the country.
The European Parliament adopted Thursday a resolution recognizing Venezuelan Juan Guaido as the country’s legitimate acting president. However, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has emphasized that the right to recognize or not to recognize the leadership of Venezuela lies with EU member states and not the institutions of the European Union.
U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton said on Friday that the United States had no plans for an imminent military intervention in Venezuela, but all options with regard to the situation in that county remain on the table.
However, US President Donald Trump confirmed Sunday in an excerpt from the upcoming CBS interview that the use of the US military in the Venezuelan crisis was among the possible variants.
