Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro calls for cooperation from India to counter Trump

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday made a pitch for increased cooperation with India, as he came down heavily on the Donald Trump administration for questioning the recently concluded gubernatorial elections in the South American country.

“India is fundamental in creating a new, stable world. Along with other emerging economies such as Russia and China, India has an important role to play in the post-imperialist world,” Maduro said during his address to international media from the capital Caracas.

He added that Venezuela, staring at international economic sanctions, would soon start accepting payment in rupees for its oil exports to India. China and India are the two biggest buyers of Venezuelan crude.

Maduro’s United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) won the governorship in 17 out of 23 states, amid allegations of electoral irregularities by opposition leaders and the United States. The White House has described the October 15 vote as lack of “free and fair election.” President Donald Trump hasn’t ruled a military intervention yet.

The socialist leader pointed out that prominent leaders, including former US President Jimmy Carter, had vouched for Venezuela’s electoral system in the past. In 2012, Carter had described Venezuela’s electoral system as the “best in the world.”

“Our election system is one of the most audited in the world. Before the elections, all parties made sure that the electoral safeguards were in place. The US has been speaking about voter fraud, but they have failed to come up with any proof,” Maduro said.

Officials at Venezuela’s mission in New Delhi, where Maduro’s speech was being streamed live, added that India’s former Election Commissioner Navin Chawla had been to the country as an election observer.

Speaking about claims that around 200 voting centres were shifted during the polls that ended up influencing the vote in government’s favour, Maduro claimed that moving booths happened in view of safety to voters favouring Maduro in opposition-controlled areas. He added that the affected voters represented just a per cent of the total population.

“We had a 61 per cent turnout, which is high by the standards of regional elections. In questioning the results, the US has criticized 11 million Venezuelans and our democracy,” he said in the speech, which was delivered in Spanish.

Venezuela has been going through an acute economic and humanitarian crisis since opposition parties disputed the formation of a new National Constituent Assembly in July. Prices of food and other essential supplies have shot up exponentially in recent months, while inflation is expected to touch nearly 700 per cent at the end of the year.