The European Union is increasing the pressure on Venezuela in the face of Caracas’ manoeuvres to stay in power: in a joint declaration, in a harsh tone at the request of Spain, the Twenty-Seven rejected this Saturday the Venezuelan justice system’s endorsement of Nicolás Maduro’s victory in the elections of 28 July, declaring insufficient the evidence presented by the Government so far. In this sense, the EU warns that it will only recognise the “complete” and “independently” verified results and urges the National Electoral Council (CNE) to publish the electoral records of “all” the voting centres, as also demanded by the Venezuelan opposition.
“To date, the Venezuelan authorities have not provided the public evidence necessary to assess the electoral process in accordance with the standards indicated by the UN panel of experts,” said the High Representative for Foreign Policy of the EU, Josep Borrell, in a statement on behalf of the Twenty-Seven.
This international panel, Brussels recalls, was invited by the CNE itself to evaluate the general conduct of the elections within the framework of the Barbados Agreement that led to the presidential elections last month. Its report, whose provisional version was published in the middle of the month, “highlights the lack of foundation of the results announced by the Venezuelan authorities,” the Twenty-Seven now add.
“Only complete and independently verifiable results will be accepted and recognised, to ensure that the will of the Venezuelan people is respected,” underlines the official statement, whose tone has been hardened with respect to initial drafts that this newspaper was able to consult – the text has been negotiated for at least two days – at the request of Spain, which already made it clear on Friday that it will not recognise the election results until “the minutes with the voting results are published in a complete and verifiable manner, so that there is full transparency (…) as is usual in all democracies,” according to sources from the Foreign Ministry.
Borrell himself, after participating in a seminar in Santander, warned the press on Friday that “until the results are verifiable, there will be no recognition of them.”
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“The EU continues to urge the CNE to publish and independently verify the electoral records of all polling stations,” the joint statement, issued on Saturday, now states. Furthermore, the text adds, “the EU underlines that the UN panel of experts has confirmed that a sample of the revised records published by the opposition exhibit the security elements of the original results protocols, thereby confirming their reliability.”
Edmundo González “seems to be the winner”
The opposition collected more than 80% of the minutes that contradicted the official thesis by showing a victory for Edmundo González with 67% of the votes, compared to 30% for Maduro. “According to the public copies of the minutes, Edmundo González Urrutia appears to be the winner of the presidential elections by a significant majority,” the Twenty-Seven now add in their formal declaration.
Despite this, the Venezuelan government has ignored the data and has insisted on proclaiming Maduro’s victory, validated last Thursday by the country’s Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ), largely in the hands of Chavismo, according to the opposition and the international community. Hence, the EU now recalls that “the CNE is the legally and constitutionally responsible body for the transparent and detailed publication of the official election results.”
“The Venezuelan people must decide their own destiny and their will must prevail,” insists the EU, which therefore assures that it “will continue to work with its regional partners to ensure that the will of the Venezuelan people expressed at the ballot box is respected.” A Union “deeply concerned by the deepening crisis” in the South American country also undertakes to work with the international community to “facilitate a Venezuelan-led dialogue that provides guarantees to both parties, leads to the restoration of democracy and resolves the current humanitarian and socio-economic crises.”
At the same time, it urges the Maduro government to “respect the right of all Venezuelans to demonstrate peacefully and freely express their political opinions without fear of reprisals.” The authorities must “refrain from using excessive force, end the repression and harassment of the opposition and civil society and release all political prisoners,” demand the Twenty-Seven, who also want a “thorough investigation of all human rights violations” committed so that “those responsible for them are brought to justice.”
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