,,iii  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #bac  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,august   
#a1 #bjac ,mr4 ,menendez 7for himself1  
,mr4 ,rubio1 ,mr4 ,nelson1 ,mr4 ,kaine1 
,mr4 ,udall of ,new ,mexico1 ,mr4       
,mc,cain1 and ,mr4 ,kirk7 submitted the 
following resolution2 which was referred
 to the ,committee on ,foreign          
,relations  ,,resolution  ,expressing   
support for the free and peaceful       
exercise of representative democracy in 
,venezuela and condemning violence and  
intimidation against the country's      
political opposition4  ,whereas the     
,national ,electoral ,council 7,,cne7 of
 ,venezuela declared ,nicols ,maduro to 
be the winner of ,venezuela's ,april    
#ad1 #bjac1 presidential election1 after
 crediting him with receiving #ej4f     
percent of votes cast2 ,whereas         
,venezuela's political opposition has   
highlighted widespread incidents of     
potential electoral irregularities1     
voter intimidation1 and other abuses    

perpetrated by the ,government of       
,venezuela in favor of the candidacy of 
,nicols ,maduro2 ,whereas the           
,organization of ,american ,states and  
other multilateral institutions called  
for a full recount and audit that       
addresses all claims by participants in 
the electoral process in ,venezuela2    
,whereas the ,senate of the ,republic of
 ,chile1 the ,christian ,democratic     
,organization of the ,americas1 the     
,socialist ,international1 the ,union of
 ,latin ,american parties1 and other    
political organizations in the region   
have issued declarations recognizing the
 alleged irregularities documented by   
the opposition in ,venezuela and urged a
 complete audit of the election results2
 ,whereas the ,,cne has denied the      
political opposition's request for a    
full and comprehensive audit of the     
election results that includes the      
review and comparison of voter registry 
log books1 vote tallies produced by     
electronic voting machines1 and the     

paper receipts printed by electronic    
voting machines2 ,whereas the ,preamble 
of the ,charter of the ,organization of 
,american ,states affirms that          
representative democracy is an          
indispensable condition for the         
stability1 peace and development of the 
region1 and ,article #a of the          
,inter-,american ,democratic ,charter   
recognizes that the people of the       
,americas have a right to democracy and 
their governments have an obligation to 
promote and defend it2 ,whereas the     
republican form of government prescribed
 in the ,constitution of the ,bolivarian
 ,republic of ,venezuela has its        
legislative branch in the ,national     
,assembly1 where the free participation 
and deliberation of its democratically  
elected representatives is essential to 
legislate and check the powers of the   
executive branch2 ,whereas the          
,president of the ,national ,assembly   
denied opposition parties the right to  
speak in the legislature from ,april #af

 to ,may #ba1 #bjac1 and removed them   
from key committees in response to their
 refusal to recognize ,nicols ,maduro as
 president2 ,whereas members of the     
ruling ,united ,socialist ,party of     
,venezuela 7,,psuv7 violently assaulted 
opposition legislators on ,april #af and
 ,april #cj1 #bjac1 in the ,national    
,assembly1 causing lacerations1 broken  
bones1 and other injuries to members of 
the political opposition2 ,whereas the  
,department of ,state responded to the  
violence against opposition legislators 
in ,venezuela by declaring that violence
 has no place in a representative and   
democratic system1 and is particularly  
inappropriate in the ,national          
,assembly2 ,whereas the ,secretary      
,general of the ,organization of        
,american ,states 7,,oas7 has repudiated
 the incident by stating that it        
reflects1 in a dramatic manner1 the     
absence of a political dialogue that can
 bring tranquility to the citizens and  
to the members of the different public  

powers to resolve in a peaceful climate 
and with everybody's participation the  
pending matters of the country2 ,whereas
 the ,congress of the ,republic of ,peru
 passed a resolution rejecting the use  
of violence against opposition parties  
in the ,venezuelan ,national ,assembly  
and expressing solidarity with those    
injured by the events of ,april #bjac2  
and ,whereas1 as a member of the        
,organization of ,american ,states and  
signatory to the ,inter-,american       
,democratic ,charter1 the ,bolivarian   
,government of ,venezuela has agreed to 
abide by the principles of              
constitutional1 representative          
democracy1 which include free and fair  
elections and adherence to its own      
constitution3 ,now1 therefore1 be it    
,that the ,senate--  7#a7 supports the  
people of ,venezuela in their pursuit of
 the free exercise of representative    
democracy in ,venezuela2  7#b7 calls for
 greater dialogue between all political 
actors in ,venezuela and strongly       

deplores the undemocratic denial of     
legitimate parliamentary rights to      
members of opposition parties in the    
,national ,assembly and the inexcusable 
violence perpetrated against opposition 
legislators inside the legislative      
chambers of ,venezuela2  7#c7 commends  
legislators from other nations in the   
,americas who have declared their       
opposition to political irregularities  
and the use of violence against         
opposition parliamentarians in          
,venezuela2  7#d7 urges the             
,organization of ,american ,states to   
issue a detailed report on any and all  
irregularities resulting from the ,april
 #ad1 #bjac1 presidential election in   
,venezuela2  7#e7 urges the ,united     
,states ,ambassador to the ,organization
 of ,american ,states to work in concert
 with other member states to use the    
full power of the organization in       
support of meaningful steps to ensure   
full parliamentary democracy and the    
rule of law in ,venezuela in accordance 

with the ,inter-,american ,democratic   
,charter1 including invoking articles   
related to unconstitutional             
interruptions of the democratic order in
 a member state2 and  7#f7 urges the    
,united ,states ,ambassador to the      
,organization of ,american ,states to   
work in concert with other member states
 to strengthen the ability of the       
,organization to protect democratic     
institutions and to respond to the      
erosion of democracy in member states4