In an official statement, the European Union said that reports from electoral observation missions indicate that the July 28 elections did not comply with international standards of integrity and that copies of the voting records published by the opposition and reviewed by several independent organizations indicate that Edmundo González Urrutia “appears to be the winner of the presidential elections by a significant majority.”
The European Union issued an official statement on Saturday, August 4, stating that “reports from international election observation missions clearly indicate that the presidential elections of 28 July did not comply with international standards of electoral integrity.”
He document published by the Council of the European Union points out that the National Electoral Council (CNE) has not yet published the official voting records and without evidence to support them, the results published on August 2 by this body cannot be recognized and they add that “Any attempt to delay the full publication of official voting records will only cast further doubt on the credibility of the officially published results.”
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The EU says that “copies of the electoral voting records published by the opposition and reviewed by several independent organisations indicate that Edmundo González Urrutia appears to be the winner of the presidential elections by a significant majority,” which is why it calls for greater independent verification of the electoral records, if possible by an entity of international reputation.
Regarding the protests and demonstrations that have taken place in the country in the days following the announcement of the results presented by the CNE, the European Union calls on the Venezuelan authorities, including the security forces, to fully respect human rights, including freedom of expression and assembly, and stresses that it is “seriously concerned about the growing number of arbitrary arrests and the constant harassment of the opposition,” and therefore calls on the Venezuelan authorities to “end arbitrary arrests, repression and violent rhetoric against members of the opposition and civil society, and release all political prisoners.”
Regarding the efforts that have been established in recent days by Latin American countries such as Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, the document indicates that the EU maintains close contact with those it considers regional partners, “to promote dialogue and a negotiated solution to the crisis, in order to respect the will of the Venezuelan people.”
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