Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the need for free, democratic, transparent, and fair elections in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela without threats or intimidation

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the need for free, democratic, transparent, and fair elections in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela without threats... (Introduced in House)

HRES 161 IH

111th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. RES. 161

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the need for free, democratic, transparent, and fair elections in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela without threats or intimidation.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

February 11, 2009

Mr. MACK submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the need for free, democratic, transparent, and fair elections in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela without threats or intimidation.

Whereas the Venezuelan Constitution provides that the President of Venezuela is limited to two six-year terms;

Whereas subsequent to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's election in 2006, he immediately called for an end to presidential term limits so that he could run again;

Whereas Chavez has repeatedly undertaken efforts to extend his rule by overturning term limits;

Whereas, on December 2, 2007, the Government of Venezuela held a constitutional referendum on repealing presidential term limits and suspending certain constitutional rights;

Whereas the 2007 referendum backed by Chavez was definitively defeated by the people of Venezuela ;

Whereas Chavez chose to ignore the mandate of the Venezuelan people and instituted many of the provisions defeated in the 2007 referendum via presidential decree;

Whereas Venezuela's November 2008 municipal elections were preceded by several measures by Chavez to thwart the opposition, such as attacks on property rights, threats against the media and the freedom of the press, and threats to strip future funding if opposition gubernatorial candidates were elected;

Whereas Chavez fulfilled these threats when opposition leader, Antonio Ledezma, won the Caracas mayorship by revoking Ledezma's authority over the 8,000-member police force, Caracas' 18-hospital health system, and 1,200 sports and recreation facilities;

Whereas, in November 2008, Chavez once again proposed a constitutional amendment that removes presidential term limits, thereby allowing him to rule Venezuela until at least 2019;

Whereas the constitutional referendum will be held on February 15, 2009;

Whereas Chavez has increased his rhetoric against university students who have organized protests ahead of the February referendum and has used the threat of `civil war' if he loses the vote;

Whereas the United States is committed to promoting freedom, security, prosperity, democracy, and the rule of law;

Whereas the Charter of the Organization of American States, of which the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is a member state, stipulates that `[t]he peoples of the Americas have a right to democracy and their governments have an obligation to promote and defend it';

Whereas democracy requires a system of political parties and organizations, the separation of powers, the independence of the branches of government, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, the rule of law, a free and independent press, and the guarantee of periodic, free, and fair elections;

Whereas Venezuela was once a thriving democracy with a vibrant free market system;

Whereas under Chavez, the Venezuelan economy has experienced substantial problems and currently has the highest inflation in Latin America and is experiencing shortages of basic food staples;

Whereas in the years since Chavez first took office, he has taken deliberate steps to eliminate freedoms and launch his `Bolivarian Revolution';

Whereas Chavez continues to pursue close ties with state sponsors of terrorism and international terrorist groups;

Whereas international human rights organizations have consistently condemned Chavez's efforts to weaken democratic institutions and human rights guarantees in Venezuela ;

Whereas Chavez unilaterally increased the size of the Venezuelan Supreme Court and appointed numerous pro-Chavez judges in clear contravention of the principles of democracy and separation of powers; and

Whereas Chavez has packed the National Election Council with pro-Chavez directors who are not able to guarantee a fair and transparent vote: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1) calls for free and fair elections in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , conducted in accordance with the standards of responsible nations and free from interference, threats, and intimidation;

(2) supports the efforts of the people of Venezuela and its democratic civil society to create the necessary conditions for free and fair elections;

(3) strongly condemns the recent actions of Hugo Chavez as detrimental to democracy and a violation of the Charter of the Organization of American States;

(4) affirms its strong opposition to all political elements that continue to subvert democracy in Venezuela ; and

(5) urges the Secretary of State to use all means at the disposal of the United States to promote free, democratic, transparent, and fair elections in Venezuela .