Caracas (The Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The heads of seven European Union states called on Venezuela to issue its voting records to reveal the “full transparency and integrity of the electoral process”.
Why are seven EU states demanding Venezuela’s voting records?
The assertion, from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Spain voiced“strong concern” about the situation in the nation following the contested presidential election.
President Nicolás Maduro has declared victory in last weekend’s vote, but the opposition has denied the official result, claiming Edmundo González Urrutia succeeded.
“We call on the Venezuelan authorities to promptly issue all voting records,” read the statement from the seven countries’ leaders. Such a measure was necessary to “recognise the will of the Venezuelan people”, it contended. “The rights of all Venezuelans, especially political leaders, must be respected during this process.
“We strongly denounce any arrest or threat against them,” the statement added, stating that authorities should respect the people’s “right to march and assemble peacefully”.
What are the claims and counterclaims in Venezuela’s presidential vote?
That result has already been abandoned by countries including the United States and Latin American neighbours Argentina, Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador and Uruguay. They say available outcomes show the opposition candidate González Urrutia was the clear victor.
The government has called for the expulsion of diplomats from some countries challenging Maduro’s victory. Argentine diplomats who reached Buenos Aires on Saturday expressed power had been cut to their embassy, as hooded police kept guard outside.
What evidence does the opposition provide against Maduro’s win?
The opposition has established a website with copies of 84% of ballots cast, showing an effortless win for González Urrutia. The government claims these are forged. Eleven civilians reportedly have perished and more than 1,000 have been imprisoned in the protests that erupted after the country’s CNE election authority, loyal to Maduro, on Friday proclaimed him the winner with 52% of the vote to 43% for Gonzalez Urrutia.
Officials said one soldier died as well. The 61-year-old Maduro has responded fiercely to the widespread international criticism, relating allegations of vote fraud as a “trap” directed by Washington to justify “a coup.”
What role did protests and arrests play in the election dispute?
Thousands of people, headed by a top opposition figure, assembled across Venezuela on Saturday to oppose the widely disputed reelection of Maduro, as his supporters responded to his own call for competing rallies. Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado ecstatic supporters in Caracas when she made a shock appearance in a truck bearing a pennant reading “Venezuela has won!” after spending several days in hiding.
Supporters cried out “Freedom!” as her truck passed by on Saturday.
“We have never been so strong as today,” Machado told the crowd, adding that “the regime has never been weaker… it has lost all legitimacy.”
Maduro also called on his followers to turn out for “the mother of all marches” later in the afternoon. He blamed the opposition for plotting attacks against security forces during their rallies. Maduro has ruled the oil-rich, cash-poor country since 2013, presiding over a GDP drop of 80% that caused more than seven million of once-wealthy Venezuela’s 30 million residents to emigrate. Experts condemn economic mismanagement and US embargoes for the collapse.
