The European Union is asking Venezuela to prove that there was no fraud in the last elections, in which Nicolas Maduro was officially declared the winner, who is heading for a third term as president. Or rather, this is what the High Representative Josep Borrell is asking for, in a statement on his behalf, which should have been made on behalf of all 27 member states but was blocked by Hungary. In foreign policy, unanimity is needed in the EU bloc and therefore the no of Viktor Orban’s government was enough to transform the text into a statement by the High Representative alone.
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“The election results have not been verified and cannot be considered representative of the will of the Venezuelan people until all official polling station minutes have been published and verified,” said Spanish Socialist Borrell. “The EU calls on the Venezuelan Electoral Council (CNE) to exercise maximum transparency in the process of tabulating the results, including granting immediate access to the voting minutes of each polling station and publishing disaggregated election results,” the note continued, calling on the authorities to ensure a full and timely investigation into any post-election complaints and grievances.
The results of the presidential elections in Venezuela have not been verified and cannot be considered representative of the will of the Venezuelan people until they are published and verified by all the official acts of the electoral mesas.https://t.co/R3WihRXr1x
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) July 29, 2024
“Reliable reports from national and international observers indicate that the elections were marred by numerous imperfections and irregularities. The European Union regrets that none of the key recommendations of the 2021 EU Election Observation Mission were implemented. Obstacles to the participation of opposition candidates, shortcomings in the voter register and unbalanced access to the media contributed to unequal electoral conditions”, concludes the complaint of the High Representative.
