[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 414 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 414

  Condemning the continued undemocratic measures by the Government of 
Venezuela to undermine the independence of democratic institutions and 
             calling for a free and fair electoral process.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 27, 2018

Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. 
Leahy, Mr. Nelson, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Coons, Mr. Reed, Mr. Kaine, and Mr. 
Sanders) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Condemning the continued undemocratic measures by the Government of 
Venezuela to undermine the independence of democratic institutions and 
             calling for a free and fair electoral process.

Whereas Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro continues to take measures to 
        consolidate an authoritarian government and undermine the independence 
        of democratic institutions in the country;
Whereas the Government of Peru, as host of the upcoming Summit of the Americas, 
        has indicated that President Nicolas Maduro is not welcome to attend 
        because of his failure to uphold the region's shared commitment to 
        strengthening democracy and improving citizens' well-being;
Whereas Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) unilaterally called for a 
        presidential election on April 22, 2018, despite the absence of an 
        agreement between the Government of Venezuela and the political 
        opposition on the conditions necessary for the electoral process;
Whereas, on February 13, 2018, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Argentina, 
        Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guyana, 
        Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Saint Lucia, rejected the 
        decision of the Government of Venezuela to hold elections on April 22;
Whereas these 14 Foreign Ministers stated that elections would not be considered 
        legitimate if the elections do not--

    (1) permit the participation of all Venezuelan citizens and political 
parties;

    (2) include observation by credible international organizations; and

    (3) meet recognized international standards;

Whereas despite these denunciations, on February 21, 2018, President Maduro 
        stated that he wanted to hold elections for the National Assembly, state 
        legislative councils, and municipal councils in conjunction with the 
        presidential election scheduled for April 22;
Whereas, in January 2018, Venezuelan authorities banned the Democratic Unity 
        Roundtable (MUD), the principal coalition of opposition parties, and 
        leading opposition political parties Voluntad Popular and Primero 
        Justicia, from participating in the presidential election;
Whereas Venezuela's December 2017 municipal elections and October 2017 
        gubernatorial elections failed to meet recognized international 
        standards;
Whereas, in July 2017, Venezuela held fraudulent elections to install a National 
        Constituent Assembly, a parallel legislature that undemocratically 
        usurped the constitutional authorities vested in the country's 
        democratically elected National Assembly;
Whereas Smartmatic, the company that manufactured the electronic voting 
        technology, confirmed that--

    (1) the result of the July 2017 National Constituent Assembly election 
was manipulated; and

    (2) a change of more than 1,000,000 votes occurred in the final 
tabulation;

Whereas a global coalition of more than 40 countries have rejected the 
        installation of Venezuela's National Constituent Assembly and refused to 
        recognize it as a legitimate institution;
Whereas the collapse of democratic governance and the proliferation of political 
        corruption, criminal violence, failed economic policies, and 
        hyperinflation have created a devastating humanitarian crisis in 
        Venezuela;
Whereas the majority of Venezuela's citizens lack access to essential medicines 
        and basic food supplies;
Whereas the precarious humanitarian conditions in Venezuela have prompted 
        hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan citizens to emigrate, which is 
        fueling a migration and refugee crisis in neighboring countries;
Whereas, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has stated 
        that the Office of the Prosecutor will open a preliminary examination of 
        the Venezuelan Government's use of torture and excessive force against 
        demonstrators and the arbitrary detention of thousands of anti-
        government protesters; and
Whereas, despite the presence of international mediators, the Government of 
        Venezuela failed to credibly participate in negotiations with the 
        country's political opposition in order to reach an agreement that 
        would--

    (1) restore democracy;

    (2) free political prisoners;

    (3) facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid; and

    (4) establish conditions for legitimate democratic elections: Now, 
therefore, be it

    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) calls on the Government of Venezuela to postpone the 
        presidential election and any concurrent National Assembly, 
        state legislative council, or municipal council elections 
        scheduled for April 22, 2018, until--
                    (A) international and local election observers from 
                credible organizations are allowed to observe the 
                electoral process, including the pre-election period, 
                and determine a legitimate process;
                    (B) the National Electoral Council is led and 
                staffed by nonpartisan members that have the confidence 
                of contesting parties;
                    (C) opposition parties and candidates are free to 
                peacefully compete in the election without threat of 
                arrest, harassment, or retribution, including access to 
                government controlled media;
                    (D) arrangements are made for all Venezuelan 
                voters, including those residing outside of Venezuela, 
                to be able to participate in the election; and
                    (E) there is no implied or direct link between an 
                individual's vote and the government food rations to 
                which the individual is eligible and no record is 
                retained of a voter's choice for any reason related to 
                government benefits, including retaliation;
            (2) denounces as illegitimate any presidential election in 
        Venezuela that fails to meet the standards described in 
        paragraph (1);
            (3) condemns the steps taken by President Maduro--
                    (A) to consolidate an authoritarian government in 
                Venezuela; and
                    (B) to undermine the independence of democratic 
                institutions such as the National Assembly of 
                Venezuela, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice of 
                Venezuela, and the National Electoral Council of 
                Venezuela;
            (4) rejects the Venezuelan Government's efforts to blame 
        the country's economic, humanitarian, and political crisis on 
        other actors instead of recognizing that the crisis was caused 
        by its own malfeasance and criminality;
            (5) urges the Government of Venezuela--
                    (A) to permit the unobstructed delivery of 
                humanitarian assistance to the people of Venezuela; and
                    (B) to stop using food as a tool of political 
                coercion;
            (6) condemns the Government of Venezuela for failing to 
        credibly participate in internationally mediated negotiations--
                    (A) to restore democracy;
                    (B) to free political prisoners; and
                    (C) to permit the delivery of humanitarian 
                assistance;
            (7) supports the decision of the Government of Peru, as 
        host of the Eighth Summit of the Americas, to not invite 
        President Maduro; and
            (8) supports the efforts of the Office of the Prosecutor of 
        the International Criminal Court to examine the Venezuelan 
        Government's use of torture, excessive force, and arbitrary 
        detentions against Venezuelan citizens.
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