Seven EU countries sign request for Venezuela to publish electoral records

Spain, Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Portugal signed a joint declaration on Saturday in which they ask “the Venezuelan authorities to publish without delay all the voting records” in order to ensure full transparency and integrity of the electoral process.”

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In this initiative, promoted by Italy and France, they expressed “deep concern about the situation in Venezuela following the presidential elections last Sunday.”

“We call on the Venezuelan authorities to publish all voting records without delay in order to ensure the full transparency and integrity of the electoral process,” it reads.

The statement explains that “the opposition indicates that it has collected and published more than 80% of the voting records produced in each polling station” and that “this verification is essential to recognize the will of the Venezuelan people.”

“The rights of all Venezuelans, particularly political leaders, must be respected during this process. We strongly condemn any arrest or threat against them,” they added.

Seven countries of the European Union ask to “respect the will of the Venezuelan people”

And they claim that “The will of the Venezuelan people must be respected, as well as their right to protest and assemble peacefully.”

“We will continue to closely monitor the situation together with our partners and support the Venezuelan people’s call for democracy and peace.”the statement added.

The Venezuelan opposition does not recognize the official result of last Sunday’s elections, after which the National Electoral Council (CNE) ratified Nicolás Maduro as re-elected president.

Following the publication of the results, protests have taken place, which, according to the Venezuelan government, have left at least 1,200 people arrested; while the NGO Foro Penal estimates that from Monday until 09:00 local time (13:00 GMT) on Saturday, 891 people were arrested, including 89 teenagers, as well as eleven civilian deaths and one soldier.

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