In view of the worsening of the economic crisis and the increasing authoritarianism of the Maduro regime, several MEPs called in a plenary session debate at the European Parliament on Wednesday 5 April for early presidential elections to break the political deadlock in Venezuela.
“It is difficult to see that the current situation is tenable until the scheduled Presidential elections in October of 2017. Early free and fair elections are clearly a must, and we should do all we can in the European Union to support the democratic process before it becomes a total dictatorship” in Venezuela, argued Charles Tannock (ECR, UK).
“It’s not the election of governors that is needed but the election of the president of the Republic – that’s what the people are calling for”, said Luis de Grandes Pascual (EPP, Spain), criticising “the brutal repression of the Bolivarian regime”. He was reacting to previous statements by European Fundamental Rights Commissioner Vera Jourova that establishing an “electoral timetable”, as provided for in the country’s constitution, was the first step towards restoring democratic order in Venezuela, and the election of governors was “a priority”.
On the same day, the Venezuelan parliament, in which the opposition hold the majority, opened a procedure to remove the Supreme Court judges. This court briefly assumed legislative powers last week, causing international outrage (see EUROPE 11759).
The GUE/NGL is the only group to have defended the Maduro regime, slamming the “reckless interference” of regional organisations in the internal affairs of the country. “It’s up to Venezuela to solve its problems and the EU to respect its sovereignty and international law”, stated Javier Couso Permuy (Spain). (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)