Santo Domingo.- The governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Paraguay, Peru and the Dominican Republic issued a joint statement in which they express their firm rejection of the decree sanctioned by the President of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, which orders a general recount of votes, considering that this measure disregards the authority of the National Electoral Council and affects the democratic institutionality of the Central American country.
In the document, released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic, the signatory states expressed their concern about the actions that, in their opinion, put at risk the democratic order and respect for the popular will expressed at the polls by the Honduran people.
Furthermore, they repudiated the acts of violence recorded against members of the opposition last Thursday, as well as any form of political violence that seeks to alter the electoral results emanating from the electoral process.
The countries also reaffirmed their recognition of the proclamation issued by the competent electoral body, which declared Nasry Asfura as president-elect of the Republic of Honduras, after elections held on November 30. According to the statement, these elections were validated by international observation missions, which confirmed that the results reflect the will freely expressed by millions of Hondurans.
Finally, the signatory States called on all Honduran political forces to respect the democratic order, guarantee a peaceful transition and prioritize dialogue, while expressing their confidence that the Honduran people will know how to defend the values of freedom and democracy.
