NEWS RELEASES
August 13, 2004 (11:25 a.m. EDT) No. 92
CANADA URGES VENEZUELANS TO CONDUCT
FAIR AND PEACEFUL REFERENDUM VOTE
Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew today called for a fair and peaceful presidential
recall referendum in Venezuela on August 15. He also reiterated Canada’s support for
the observation mission from the Organization of American States (OAS), which will be
monitoring the vote.
“This referendum is an important milestone in Venezuelan democracy,” said
Minister Pettigrew. “It offers the opportunity to decide the future direction of the country
and to end months of political polarization and instability. I wish to emphasize the
importance of a violence-free vote, with results that are accepted by all sides.”
International observation by the OAS and the Carter Center is intended to ensure that
the referendum is transparent, fair and democratic, and instills confidence in the
process. The Government of Canada is contributing $30,000 to assist with the OAS
observation mission, which will include four Canadians.
Following the attempted coup to unseat Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in
April 2002, Canada has repeatedly called on all sectors of Venezuelan society to find a
peaceful, democratic, constitutional and electoral solution to the political crisis. We have
also strongly supported ongoing facilitation by the OAS in this effort.
In May 2004, Canada contributed $60,000 to an OAS mission that oversaw the
reconfirmation of 1.2 million signatures deemed invalid by Venezuela’s National
Electoral Council. Four observers in that mission were Canadian.
The Carter Centre is one of the largest observation missions in Venezuela, and is there
along with the OAS to observe the referendum. The two groups have coordinated their
observers to ensure there are representatives monitoring the voting throughout the
country.
For more information on Canada’s relations with Venezuela, please visit the following
site: http://www.international.gc.ca/latinamerica/venezuelarelations-en.asp.
For more information on Canada and the OAS, please visit
http://www.international.gc.ca/latinamerica/oas-en.asp.
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For further information, media representatives may contact:
Sébastien Théberge
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
(613) 995-1851
Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs Canada and International Trade Canada
(613) 995-1874
http://www.international.gc.ca
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