The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, appealed for calm in Venezuela on the evening of Monday 29 July, following the disputed victory of outgoing President Nicolás Maduro. The opposition is crying fraud and some members of the international community are calling for greater transparency in the results.
“The EU appeals for calm and urges the security forces to ensure full respect for human rights, including the right to peaceful assembly”, the High Representative stressed in a press release. At least one person has reportedly been killed and several dozen arrested following post-election demonstrations.
Mr Borrell commended the “determination” of Venezuelans to exercise their voting rights “peacefully and in large numbers” and the opposition’s commitment to the electoral process despite an uneven playing field. “The will of the people of Venezuelan must be respected”, he warned.
Concerned about the arbitrary detentions and intimidation of members of the opposition and civil society throughout the electoral process, Mr Borrell called for the immediate release of all political prisoners.
According to the High Representative, the election results have not been verified and cannot be considered representative of the will of the Venezuelan people until all the official records from polling stations are published and verified. He called on the Venezuelan Electoral Council (CNE) to exercise maximum transparency in the process of results tabulation, including the granting of immediate access to the voting records of each polling station and the publication of disaggregated election results. According to the CNE, Mr Maduro was re-elected for a third consecutive six-year mandate with 5.15 million votes (51.2%). His opponent, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, took just under 4.5 million (44.2%).
All post-election complaints and grievances must be fully and promptly investigated, said Mr Borrell.
While credible reports from domestic and international observers indicate that the elections were marred by numerous flaws and irregularities, the High Representative regretted that none of the main recommendations of the 2021 EU Election Observation Mission had been implemented. Obstacles to the participation of opposition candidates, deficiencies in the voter registry, and imbalanced media access contributed to unequal electoral conditions.
“The EU will continue to pursue all political and diplomatic efforts in support of dialogue and a peaceful and negotiated way out of the political crisis”, he added.
Asked about possible European sanctions, the spokesman for the European External Action Service, Peter Stano, said on Tuesday that it was premature to talk about sanctions and that the Member States were assessing the situation. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)