MIAMI, United States. – The European Parliament issued a resolution This September 19th in which he recognizes Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as the “legitimate and democratically elected president of Venezuela.” The decision comes after the presidential elections of July 28, 2024, which were strongly criticized for not meeting international standards of electoral integrity.
The non-binding document was put to a vote on Thursday and approved with 309 votes in favour, 201 against and 12 abstentions.
In the resolution, Parliament expressed concern about the lack of transparency and irregularities in the electoral process carried out by the National Electoral Council (CNE), controlled by the regime of Nicolas MaduroThe resolution stresses that “the CNE refused to publish the official record of the counting minutes and falsified the election results,” which led to the recognition of a false victory for Maduro.
The European Parliament also noted that “the democratic opposition obtained 83.5% of the official voting records”, which were verified as authentic by the United Nations Group of Experts. According to these documents, González won the election with 67.08% of the votes cast.
The resolution also condemns “orchestrated electoral fraud” and denounces human rights violations, arbitrary arrests and reprisals against the opposition and civil society. Parliament also demanded the “immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners” and condemned reprisals against Maria Corina Machadowho was also key in the opposition.
The Parliament also urged the European Union and member states to do everything possible to ensure that González assumes the presidency on 10 January 2025, in accordance with the Venezuelan Constitution. It also called for the restoration of sanctions against members of the CNE and for them to be extended to include Maduro and his inner circle. The resolution also underlines the risk that, if there is no peaceful transition, there will be a new exodus of migrants from Venezuela.
The document concludes by reaffirming the importance of respecting the will of the Venezuelan people and restoring democracy in the country, in order to resolve the current humanitarian and socio-economic crisis.
For her part, Machado thanked the European Parliament for recognizing González Urrutia as “president-elect” of Venezuela. “The European Parliament recognizes Edmundo González Urrutia as president-elect of Venezuela. Thank you, Europe!” wrote the opposition leader on her social media account X.
