- EU does not recognise Maduro's claimed election victory
The European Union does not recognize the official results of the presidential election in Venezuela without a full disclosure of the voting records. This was announced by the spokesman of EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, Peter Stano, on Sunday evening.
Following an election last Sunday, which was accompanied by allegations of fraud, the loyal election authority CNE declared the authoritarian president Nicolás Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, the winner. However, it has not yet published the detailed results of the individual polling stations. According to the opposition, these show that their candidate Edmundo González Urrutia won with a clear lead over Maduro.
Nicolás Maduro continues to withhold records
Any attempt to delay the full publication of the official election results will only further question their credibility, the EU statement said. Stano also expressed concern about the growing number of "arbitrary arrests" and ongoing harassment of the opposition.
The USA and half a dozen Latin American countries have already recognized opposition candidate González as the winner. On Sunday, Germany and other European countries called for the publication of the election records. "We express our deep concern about the situation in Venezuela following the presidential elections last Sunday," said a joint statement by Germany, France, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal.
The EU statement emphasizes that any delay in the full publication of the official election results by the authoritarian President of the Republic, Nicolás Maduro, will further question their credibility. The President of the Republic, Maduro, continues to withhold the detailed results of the individual polling stations, despite allegations of fraud and calls for transparency from the opposition and several international entities.
