The senator headed the Federation Council delegation to observe the election process in Venezuela.
The Federation Council delegation took part in observing the elections to the National Assembly in Venezuela. The delegates included Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Konstantin Kosachev (head of the delegation); First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Federal Structure, Regional Policy, Local Government and Northern Affairs Andrei Shevchenko; and First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy Yury Fedorov.
Speaking on the Vmeste-RF television channel’s Skazano v Senate [Said in the Senate] programme, Konstantin Kosachev said that observers from Russia had not found any violations in the organisation of the parliamentary elections that could distort the voting results or discredit their legitimacy.
“The elections were based on the Constitution and held in compliance with the effective laws,” Mr Kosachev said. “We in our role as observers have found no faults with how the country’s effective laws were complied with and how these elections were organised.”
The senator added that members of the Russian parliamentary delegation had visited quite a few polling stations and had met with almost all the leaders of Venezuela’s leading political parties, including members of five opposition parties who took part in the election campaign. “None of them had any grievances in connection with how the elections were organised,” said the senator, who is currently in Caracas together with other members of the Federation Council delegation. “We definitely cannot question the legitimacy of the elections.”
Konstantin Kosachev recalled that as a result of the political crisis in Venezuela that had lasted several years and was triggered with the help of outside interference, the country’s authorities had largely lost their legal capacity. He expects the current elections to put an end to the dual power in Venezuela and to bring the country back to a normal political life.
Mr Kosachev also noted that there had been no observers in Venezuela from either the United States or the EU member countries, “who had rushed to call the elections illegitimate long before the polling day.” At the same time, he said, the elections had been observed by numerous and large delegations, including from Turkey and Iran. Also there were European Parliament members, who unofficially were observing the elections.
“My assessments are shared by all international observers, without exception, who were there for these elections,” Konstantin Kosachev concluded.