Josep Borrell said that the European Union needs to have the data that supports the CNE report to recognize the results of July 28
The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, stated on Sunday, August 4, that the bloc cannot recognize the results issued by the National Electoral Council (CNE) in which President Nicolás Maduro is declared victorious, since in his opinion there is no evidence to support his victory at the polls.
Borrell, through a statement, stressed that, despite the CNE’s commitment to make public the official minutes of voting centers and tables, this has not yet happened; therefore, the results read by the president of the organization, Elvis Amoroso, on August 2, cannot be recognized.
The European Union countries suggest that it was the Unitary Platform that won on July 28, pointing out that the copies of the minutes published by the opposition and reviewed by independent organizations, “indicate that Edmundo González Urrutia appears to be the winner of the presidential elections by a significant majority.”
He also regrets that there are delays in publishing disaggregated data because this “casts further doubt on the credibility” of the process, referring to reports – such as that of the Carter Center – which claim that the necessary international standards were not met.
*Read also: European Union: Edmundo González appears to be the winner of the presidential elections
In this regard, the bloc once again proposes that an independent verification be carried out by a recognized international entity. It also urges the Venezuelan State to respect human rights in peaceful demonstrations.
“At this critical moment, it is important that demonstrations and protests remain peaceful. The European Union calls for calm and restraint. The Venezuelan authorities, including the security forces, must fully respect human rights, including freedom of expression and assembly,” says the text signed by Borrell.
The president of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Elvis Amoroso, announced the Friday 2nd of August the second bulletin of the presidential elections of July 28th confirms the victory of President Nicolás Maduro with 6,408,844 votes, which translates to 51.95%.
Amoroso indicated that the opposition presidential candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, came in second place with 5,326,104 votes, representing 43.18%.
The leader of Vente Venezuela, María Corina Machado, thanked the support and backed the request to publish the electoral records as established by Venezuelan law.
“On behalf of the Venezuelan people, I am grateful for this important joint statement from the governments of Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland and Portugal, reaffirming their commitment to democracy in Venezuela,” he said.
For its part, Maduro rejected the position of the European Union, which in a statement declared the repression of security forces against opposition protesters. He criticized Joseph Borrell, representative of the bloc, for remaining silent in the face of “the Gaza massacre (…) now he says that in Venezuela there is repression of peaceful demonstrations.”
With information from Europa Press
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