EU Questions Validity of Venezuelan Election Results, Cites Evidence of Edmundo González's Potential Win

The European Union (EU) has voiced deep concerns over the aftermath of the Venezuelan presidential elections held on July 28, cautioning the regime of Nicolás Maduro against repressing protesters. In a statement issued by Josep Borrell, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, the Spanish diplomat highlighted that international election observation missions reported numerous irregularities, indicating that the elections did not meet international standards of electoral integrity.

"Despite its commitments, the National Electoral Council of Venezuela (CNE) has yet to release the polling station tallies. Without verifiable evidence, the results published by the CNE on August 2 cannot be recognized," Borrell stated. He urged the Maduro regime to publish the voting tallies, warning that delaying their release would only cast further doubt on the credibility of the official results.

Borrell also praised the strategy of opposition leader María Corina Machado, who has made available over 80% of the opposition's tallies for independent review, which indicate a significant victory for Edmundo González Urrutia. The EU has called for further independent verification of the electoral records by a reputable international entity.

The EU's declaration comes amid escalating tensions and protests in Venezuela. The EU emphasized the importance of human rights and the freedoms of expression and assembly, urging Venezuelan authorities, including security forces, to fully respect these rights.

"The European Union is seriously concerned about the increasing number of arbitrary detentions and the ongoing harassment of the opposition. The EU calls on Venezuelan authorities to end arbitrary detentions, repression, and violent rhetoric against opposition members and civil society, and to release all political prisoners," Borrell exhorted.

This stance aligns with other international reactions. The United States has recognized González Urrutia as the legitimate winner of the election. Meanwhile, countries such as Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, and Costa Rica have expressed support for the opposition diplomat. Spain and six other European countries have also signed a joint declaration demanding the release of Venezuela's electoral tallies.

The Carter Center has denounced the electoral process's lack of integrity, highlighting significant irregularities and problems. Led by figures like Machado, the opposition has been releasing their voting tallies to support their claims of electoral fraud.

The EU and other international actors continue to closely monitor the situation in Venezuela, pressing for transparency and respect for the people's will, as concluded in the EU's statement.

Maduro's Reaction

Following the statement from the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Maduro criticized the EU and Borrell, calling them a "disgrace", according to El Diario.

"The European Union repeats its rhetoric, the same EU that recognized Juan Guaidó. The EU is a disgrace; Borrell is a disgrace, a man who led Europe into a war in Ukraine and now washes his hands," Maduro said during an event with the Bolivarian National Guard, a militarized police force known for its role in repressing protests in Venezuela.

Maduro condemned the EU's call for authorities to respect protesters. "Now Borrell says there is repression of peaceful protests in Venezuela. Peaceful? When they attack the population, hospitals, schools, bus units, and metro stations?" he questioned.

EU Relations with Maduro's Regime

The EU, a global power perceived as an international actor without effective tools to project its power, has been critical of Nicolás Maduro's regime since its inception following the death of the Bolivarian leader Hugo Chávez.

While pointing out the fundamental rights and freedoms violations of Venezuelans, the EU has always been open to dialogue and negotiation with the regime's authorities to secure guarantees that allow Venezuelans to exercise their rights and express their will as sovereigns.

However, trained in Havana's diplomacy, Maduro's regime leaders have skillfully used the EU's natural predisposition to reinforce and perpetuate their dictatorial power, drawing out ultimately fruitless negotiation processes.

In May 2018, then-EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Federica Mogherini, stated that the elections in which Maduro was re-elected, marked by high abstention, were riddled with "irregularities". In a statement, she highlighted that the presidential and regional elections in Venezuela took place without a national agreement on an electoral calendar and failed to meet the minimum international standards for a credible process.

"Significant obstacles to the participation of opposition political parties and their leaders, an unbalanced composition of the National Electoral Council, biased electoral conditions, numerous irregularities reported on election day, including vote-buying, hindered fair and equitable elections," Mogherini enumerated.

In January 2019, Mogherini urged Venezuela to hold free, transparent, and credible presidential elections to choose a government that genuinely represented the people's will. "If there is no announcement of new elections with necessary guarantees in the coming days, the EU will take further measures, including regarding the recognition of the country's leadership in line with Article 233 of the Venezuelan Constitution," Mogherini said in a statement.

In December 2020, the EU questioned the legitimacy of the parliamentary elections held in Venezuela, in which the ruling socialist party gained control of Congress. The EU stated that the elections were neither free nor fair, rejected the results, and called on Maduro to chart a path toward national reconciliation.

"The results cannot be recognized by the European Union," declared the then-High Representative, Josep Borrell.

In February 2022, the EU imposed sanctions on 19 high-ranking Venezuelan officials, legislators, and security force members in response to the December legislative elections, which the bloc said were rigged in favor of Nicolás Maduro. With these additions, the total number of Venezuelans on the EU's blacklist rose to 55 regime officials. In Caracas, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza rejected the new sanctions.

"Pointing fingers at honorable citizens with false arguments, in reaction to the frustration of a group of EU member states over the manifest ineffectiveness of their actions to force a change of government by force in Venezuela, is nothing but another clumsy decision," said the now Minister of Communes and Social Movements.

In October 2021, the Venezuelan regime labeled the EU's electoral observation mission during the country's November elections as "interventionist" after Borrell stated that they would audit the process and that the European observer mission would be the opposition's greatest guarantee in the elections.

"The government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela reaffirms that it will not accept any intervention and that an electoral observation mission with the characteristics described by Mr. Borrell will not be accepted by our country," said a statement from the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry on Twitter.

After the elections, Maduro accused the EU Electoral Observation Mission members of being "spies" and said their preliminary report aimed to "tarnish" the elections. The EU mission presented a document stating that while conditions were better than in previous contests, arbitrary situations such as candidate disqualifications, delays in opening and closing polling stations, and the "widespread use of state resources in the campaign" were noted.

"They tried to tarnish the electoral process with a poorly drafted and improvised report. They were not observers, but a delegation of spies deployed freely across the country, spying on the social, economic, and political life of the country," said Maduro, the same leader who has manipulated all electoral processes since his rise to power in March 2013.