Venezuela’s Maduro Ready to Sign Pact to Recognize Vote Results


(Bloomberg) — Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro is willing to sign an agreement to recognize the results of next month’s presidential election despite polls still showing him trailing the opposition’s little-known candidate.

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A confident Maduro said Monday evening that he is willing to “immediately” seal a pact with him and the eight other presidential candidates “to recognize the bulletin” announced by the electoral council July 28. Once he’s ratified as president, he said, he’ll call for a “great dialogue” of all Venezuelans.

Maduro’s remarks comes as most credible polls show a slight rise in his voting intentions but still place him behind opposition contender Edmundo González. On Sunday, the ruling party tested its capacity to mobilize its supporters ahead of the vote, and Maduro said they had achieved “record figures,” without giving further details.

“Whoever wants to sign, let them sign, and whoever doesn’t want to sign, there must be a reason,” Maduro said Monday during his TV show. The Venezuelan opposition has not commented on the proposal that was first made last week by Maduro’s campaign coordinator, Jorge Rodríguez.

Maduro has been consistently backsliding on the commitments of a US-brokered deal signed with the opposition, with guarantees for a free and fair vote. Most recently, his government revoked the invitation for the European Union to monitor the elections. Other organizations, such as the Carter Center, have not said if they will still oversee the vote.

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