The European Union has refused to recognize Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s contested re-election, citing the lack of official voting records from the country’s electoral authority.
In a statement, the EU Council said, “The results published by Venezuela’s National Electoral Council on August 2 cannot be recognised… Any attempt to delay the full publication of the official voting records will only cast further doubt on their credibility.”
The EU has stopped short of recognizing opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as president-elect, unlike the US and other countries. However, it noted that independent reviews of opposition-published records suggest Gonzalez Urrutia won by a significant majority.
The EU is calling for further independent verification of the electoral records, possibly by an internationally reputed entity. It also urged Venezuelan authorities to end arbitrary detentions, repression, and violent rhetoric against the opposition and civil society, and to release all political prisoners.
