The European Union on Sunday (4/8) increased international pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, joining Washington and Latin American nations in refusing to recognize his claim of victory in an election marred by allegations of fraud.
The latest rejection came as Venezuela's opposition called for the results of last week's disputed presidential vote to be made public, as the pope said Venezuelans must “seek the truth” and warned against further violence.
The results published by Venezuela's National Electoral Council on August 2 “cannot be recognized,” the Council of the European Union said in a statement.
“Any attempt to delay the full publication of the official voting records will only cast further doubt” on their credibility, he said.
The country's electoral authority said the vote was won by incumbent Maduro, a result that contradicted pre-election polls. The authority's decision sparked protests that human rights groups say have left 11 people dead and thousands arrested.
A growing number of countries, including the United States and Argentina, say the election was won by opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.
European Union countries such as France, Germany, Italy and Spain were among those pushing for transparency, and called on authorities to release detailed vote count results.
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado welcomed the countries' “commitment to democracy” over the weekend.
Machado has spent much of this week in hiding, after Maduro threatened to arrest him. He supported Gonzalez Urrutia's candidacy after he himself was barred from running.
“On behalf of the Venezuelan people, I thank you for this important message… reaffirming your commitment to democracy,” he wrote on the X platform, which was formerly Twitter.
However, unlike the United States and several other countries, the European Union does not recognize Gonzalez Urrutia as president-elect.
“Copies of the election voting records published by the opposition, and reviewed by several independent organisations, show that Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia appears set to win the presidential election with a significant majority,” the EU statement said.
“The European Union therefore calls for further independent verification of election records, where possible, by an internationally reputable entity.”
On Friday (2/8), the National Electoral Council (CNE) confirmed Maduro's victory with 52 percent of the vote against 43 percent for Gonzalez Urrutia.
Claiming to be the victim of a computer hack, the CNE, which the opposition accuses of being loyal to Maduro, has yet to provide a breakdown of the vote tally based on the poll.
The opposition believes this is a maneuver to avoid disclosing the true results, and has published minutes from each polling station on a website showing that Gonzalez Urrutia won 67% of the vote.
Maduro has rejected its legitimacy.
“We support the request for verification of the minutes that we have submitted, as soon as possible, at an international and independent level,” Machado said.
“We also appreciate the call to end the persecution and repression that, in the last few hours, has been brutally used against innocent people who only demanded respect for the sovereignty of the people they did” last Sunday, he added.
“Seek the Truth”
Machado spoke in the wake of remarks from Pope Francis, who said Venezuela was experiencing a “critical situation” and sent a “heartfelt appeal to all parties to seek the truth, and to be moderate in avoiding any kind of violence.”
Maduro denounced what he called an attempt to “usurp the presidency,” while Machado said the opposition had “never been stronger.”
After Venezuela's last election in 2018, Maduro was declared the winner amid widespread allegations of fraud. Eventually, the United States and many other countries recognized then-parliament speaker Juan Guaido as interim president.
However, Guaido failed to remove Maduro from office and the once-popular young politician disappeared from public life.
Maduro, 61, has lashed out at international criticism, describing allegations of vote rigging as a “set-up” orchestrated by Washington to justify a “coup.”
He has led the oil-rich but financially impoverished nation since 2013, overseeing an 80 percent drop in GDP that prompted more than seven million of Venezuela's once-wealthy population of 30 million to emigrate. (th/rs)
