International
Venezuela’s electoral body calls the UN report on the presidential elections a “pamphlet”
The National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela lamed this Wednesday a “pamphletary” the provisional report prepared by the panel of experts of the United Nations (UN), according to which the presidential elections of July 28 lacked the “basic measures of transparency and integrity that are essential to hold credible elections.”
In a statement, the CNE recalled that, as agreed with the UN, this document would have internal purposes, so its public disclosure violates the agreement and “demoverses the perverse political intentionality of such dissemination, composed of fallacious and disfigured arguments.”
“The content of this ‘report’ is a pamphlet document and its ‘expertise’ is absolutely crumbled in view of the poor and easily deniable arguments that they use to try to delegitimize the impeccable and transparent electoral process carried out on July 28,” says the election body.
In addition to repeatedly denying the document, the CNE insisted that since July 28 a “cyberterrorist attack” was carried out that continues and before which “the contingency protocols” were applied that allowed “to have a transmission of 80% of the minutes, with an irreversible result in favor” of President Nicolás Maduro.
In view of the lack of results disaggregated by voting center, which contradicts the established schedule, the CNE indicated that “the detailed disclosure could not be made” “for continuous attacks on the dissemination platforms, which are exposed to the internet,” in allusion to the institution’s website, which has been down for 17 days.
In the opinion of the CNE – whose majority of authorities are alike Chavismo – the UN experts “shamelessly try to endorse the scam” of the majority opposition, which published “83.5%” of the electoral records on a website to support their complaint of fraud and ensure that their candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, won the elections by a large margin.
The entity stressed that the UN group “was not authorized to carry out audits on alleged records that do not have any level of legality, since they were not provided by the electoral body,” so “the ‘experts’ incur an act of illegality, by giving as valid” the ballots disclosed by anti-chavismo.
“With their political agenda against the Venezuelan people, these characters question the credibility and reliability of the UN, while mocking the trust placed in them by the Member States,” the letter concludes.
In addition to this panel, the Carter Center – which was also invited by the CNE as a supervisor of the presidential elections – considered that the elections cannot be considered democratic for violating the established standards.
International
Chile enters runoff campaign with Kast leading and Jara seeking a last-minute comeback
Chile’s presidential runoff campaign for the December 14 election kicked off this Sunday, with far-right candidate José Antonio Kast entering the race as the clear favorite in the polls, while left-wing contender Jeannette Jara faces an uphill scenario, hoping for a comeback that some experts describe as “a miracle.”
The final polls released in Chile—published before the mandatory blackout on survey dissemination—give Kast, an ultraconservative former lawmaker running for president for the third time, a lead of between 12 and 16 points. His opponent, the communist former minister in Gabriel Boric’s current administration, is weighed down not only by the government’s low approval ratings but also by a fragmented electorate.
Although Jeannette Jara received the most votes in the first round with 26.9%, her lack of alliances beyond the left makes it difficult for her to expand her support. Kast, who secured 23.9%, has already brought key figures on board: ultralibertarian Johannes Kaiser (13.9%) and traditional right-wing leader Evelyn Matthei (12.4%), both now backing his candidacy.
Analysts note that although Kast’s support base consolidates more than 50% of the electorate, it does not guarantee an automatic transfer of votes. Populist economist Franco Parisi, who placed third with 19.7%, emerges as the major wildcard. His party, the People’s Party (PDG), is set to decide this Sunday through an internal consultation whether to endorse one of the two finalists.
International
Trump says asylum decision freeze will remain in place “for a long time”
U.S. President Donald Trump warned on Sunday that the suspension of decisions on asylum applications—implemented as part of his order to “halt” immigration from third-world countries following Wednesday’s shooting in Washington—will remain in effect “for a long time.”
The president declined to specify how long the freeze, imposed last Friday by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), would last. The suspension affects individuals waiting for an asylum ruling from that agency, though it does not apply to cases handled by U.S. immigration courts.
The delay is part of a series of measures enacted by the Trump Administration after a shooting on Wednesday in which an Afghan national allegedly opened fire on the National Guard in Washington, D.C., killing one officer and leaving another in critical condition.
Trump has ordered a permanent halt to immigration from 19 countries classified as “third-world.” He also indicated on Sunday that “possibly” more nations could be added to the list.
“These are countries with high crime rates. They are countries that do not function well… that are not known for success, and frankly, we don’t need people from those places coming into our country and telling us what to do,” Trump said, adding: “We don’t want those people.”
USCIS had already announced on Thursday a “rigorous review” of green cards held by migrants from 19 “countries of concern,” including Afghanistan, Cuba, Venezuela, and Haiti.
International
Sri Lanka and Indonesia deploy military as deadly asian floods kill over 1,000
Sri Lanka and Indonesia deployed military personnel on Monday to assist victims of the devastating floods that have killed more than a thousand people across Asia in recent days.
A series of weather events last week triggered prolonged torrential rains across Sri Lanka, parts of Indonesia’s Sumatra island, southern Thailand, and northern Malaysia. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said Monday in North Sumatra that “the priority now is to deliver the necessary aid as quickly as possible.”
“There are several isolated villages that, with God’s help, we will be able to reach,” he added. Subianto also stated that the government had deployed helicopters and aircraft to support relief operations.
Floods and landslides have claimed 502 lives in Indonesia, with a similar number still missing.
This marks the highest death toll from a natural disaster in Indonesia since 2018, when an earthquake and subsequent tsunami killed more than 2,000 people.
The government has sent three military ships carrying aid and two hospital vessels to the hardest-hit regions, where many roads remain impassable.
In the village of Sungai Nyalo, located about 100 kilometers from Padang, the capital of West Sumatra, floodwaters had receded by Sunday, leaving homes, vehicles, and crops coated in thick mud.
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