The European Union has joined the growing international pressure on the Venezuelan government to finally show the “complete” electoral records of 28 July and has doubled its demand for an “independent” verification of the same. In a joint declaration, the Twenty-Seven also warn that the approval of the Supreme Court of that country is not sufficient, since, they recall, the body legally responsible for this process is the National Electoral Council (CNE), as also defended by the opposition to Nicolás Maduro.
“The results announced by the Venezuelan authorities cannot be considered a reflection of the will of the people,” the EU members stressed in a statement, according to a draft to which Morning Express has had access. “Only complete and independently verified results are acceptable,” they added in the joint statement, some of whose details are still being intensively negotiated, since there are countries, such as Spain, that want a more forceful common European voice in the face of the crisis in the Latin American country.
“It is essential that the minutes containing the voting results be published in full and verifiable form, so that there is full transparency, as the United Nations panel of experts has pointed out and as is customary in all democracies,” said sources from the Foreign Ministry. “Until this happens, we will not be able to recognise the result of the elections,” the Spanish government warns.
This position is also shared by the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell. “As long as the results are not verifiable, there will be no recognition of them,” warned the head of European diplomacy from Santander, after participating in an EU seminar at the Menéndez Pelayo International University.
In their statement, which has not yet been officially published, the Twenty-Seven recall that the UN panel of experts “has confirmed that the revised minutes published by the opposition exhibit the security elements of the original results protocols, thereby confirming their reliability.” 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. “The copies of the electoral minutes published by the opposition and reviewed by several independent organizations indicate that Edmundo González Urrutia appears to be the winner of the presidential elections by a significant majority,” recalled Borrell himself in a statement issued at the beginning of the month.
In the draft of the new common position, which according to Borrell, if not agreed upon now could be discussed at the informal meeting of Foreign Affairs to be held next week in Brussels, the Twenty-Seven say they “take note” of the validation, on Thursday, by the Supreme Court of Venezuela (TSJ) of Maduro’s victory in the elections. But they immediately underline that “the CNE is the legal and constitutional body responsible for the transparent and detailed publication of the official election results”, which is also the position of the opposition, which has tried, in vain, to have this body, and not the TSJ, settle the controversy.
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The EU also recalls that the UN panel of experts’ report has “highlighted the unfoundedness of the results announced by the Venezuelan authorities” and demands that the country’s authorities “respect the right of all Venezuelans to demonstrate and freely express their political opinions without fear of reprisals.”
“The EU will continue to work with its regional partners to ensure that the will of the Venezuelan people expressed at the ballot box is respected and to facilitate a Venezuelan-led dialogue that provides guarantees to both parties and leads to the restoration of democracy and the resolution of the current humanitarian and socio-economic crisis” in Venezuela, they added.
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