Mexico awaits final count of votes to recognize Maduro's reelection in Venezuela

By Jorge Antonio Rocha

MEXICO CITY (AA) - Mexico will wait for the final count of voting ballots before recognizing the government elected by the people of Venezuela, following President Nicolas Maduro's virtual reelection, said Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday.

Venezuela's general elections, which saw Maduro reelected for a third term, have met with backlash and mixed reactions from Latin America.

During his morning briefing, Lopez Obrador said he is waiting for the Venezuelan National Electoral Council (CNE), the country's electoral body, to confirm the preliminary results favoring Maduro.

"We are going to wait for the result, and when the count has been carried out, we will see what the legal process is, and then we will pronounce ourselves; if the electoral authority confirms this tendency, we will recognize the government elected by the people of Venezuela," he said.

Mexico's leader highlighted that as of Sunday night, initial counts favored Maduro by 51.2% to 44.2% for Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia of Venezuela's opposition United Democratic Platform (PUD).

"This is the result with 80% of the polling stations, so we have to wait for 100%, and we will be guided by this," said Lopez Obrador.

Through a press release, Mexico's Foreign Ministry said it is waiting for a "final tally and detailed reports" from Venezuela's electoral body to know the final results.

"In keeping with its constitutional principles of foreign policy, with full respect for Venezuela's sovereignty and the self-determination of peoples, Mexico trusts that the will of the Venezuelan people expressed at the polls will be respected through a transparent scrutiny process," read the statement.

Lopez Obrador congratulated the people of Venezuela on their voting day because "there was no violence in the election."

However, much of Latin America has expressed disavowal of Maduro's possible reelection.

Uruguay, Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and the Dominican Republic have urged an emergency meeting with the Organization of American States (OAS) to call for a thorough review of the results.