Havana, March 14 (RHC)-- The United Nations says it is considering a request from the Venezuelan government and opposition to send observers to the country's presidential and state elections, scheduled for May 20th.

The announcement came after U.N. political affairs chief Jeffrey Feltman, and several other U.N. officials met with Venezuelan ambassador to the UN Samuel Moncada and opposition representatives, including Henri Falcon, who was expelled by the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) for registering as a candidate in the upcoming presidential election.

The MUD and several other right-wing opposition parties have decided to boycott the electoral process. The opposition grouping had demanded a later date and international observers to guarantee “fair” competition, but when elections were postponed from April 22 to May 20, and the Venezuelan government requested accompaniment from the U.N. and other international organizations, the MUD insisted they wouldn’t participate in what they call “sham” elections.

In their attempt to discredit Venezuela’s electoral process, opposition parties have also sent a letter to U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres urging him not to send observers arguing it would lend legitimacy to the electoral process in which President Nicolas Maduro is seeking a second six-year term in office. 

On Tuesday Venezuela's Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez said they would continue to press the Union of South American Nations as well as the United Nations to create a committee to monitor electoral practices in the region after what he called 'the disaster' observed during the Colombia's elections on Sunday.