The European Union joins the growing international pressure for the Venezuelan government to present once and for all the “complete” election results of July 28 and redoubles its demand for an “independent” verification of these. In a joint statement, the Twenty-Seven also warn that The approval of the Supreme Court of this country is not enoughsince, let us remember, the body legally responsible for this process is the National Electoral Council (CNE), as the opposition to Nicolas Maduro also defends.
“The results announced by the Venezuelan authorities cannot be considered as a reflection of the will of the people“, the EU members stress in a statement, according to a draft that EL PAÍS had access to. “Only complete and independently verified results are acceptable,” they add in the joint declaration, some details of which continue to be intensively negotiated, as some countries, such as Spain, want a stronger common European voice in the face of the crisis in the Latin American country.
“It is essential that the minutes with the results of the vote are published in a complete and verifiable manner, in order to ensure full transparency, as indicated the panel of experts of the United Nations and as is customary in all democracies,” foreign sources point out in this regard. “Until this happens, we will not be able to recognize the result of the elections,” warns the Spanish government.
This position is also shared by the EU's High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell. “As long as the results are not verifiable, they will not be recognised,” warned the head of European diplomacy from Santander, after participating in an EU seminar at the Menéndez Pelayo International University.
The Twenty-Seven recall in their press release, not yet officially published, that the UN panel of experts “confirmed that the revised minutes published by the opposition present the security elements of the protocols of the original results, thus confirming their reliability”. The opposition collected more than 80% of the minutes confronted with the official thesis. showing a victory for Edmundo González with 67% of the votes, for 30% of Maduro. “Copies of electoral records released by the opposition and reviewed by several independent organizations indicate that Edmundo González Urrutia appears to be the winner of the presidential election with a significant majority” Borrell himself recalled this in a statement published at the beginning of the month..
In the draft of the new common position, which, according to Borrell, if not adopted 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 emphasize that “the CNE is the body legally and constitutionally responsible for the transparent and detailed publication of the official results of the elections.” This is also the position of the opposition, that it was he who tried, in vain, this time, and not the TSJ, to settle the controversy.
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The EU also recalls that the report of the UN group of experts “highlighted the unfounded nature of the results announced by the Venezuelan authorities” and demands that the country's authorities “respect the right of all Venezuelans to freely demonstrate and 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 in the elections 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 add.
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