CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's electoral authorities on Tuesday rescinded an invitation for a European Union delegation to monitor the country's upcoming presidential election. President Nicolas Maduro He is seeking re-election.
Elvis Amoroso, president of the National Electoral Council, cited economic sanctions imposed by the 27 EU countries as the reason for withdrawing the invitation, as the EU has yet to accept the invitation issued earlier this year.
Amoroso said Tuesday's decision was aimed at showing that “as long as the genocidal sanctions against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and in particular its government, remain in place, the EU representatives are not welcome in our country.”
However, the EU is only maintaining sanctions against more than 50 Venezuelans suspected of acts of repression and attempts to undermine democracy, but not against the entire government.
The announcement came two weeks after the EU temporarily lifted sanctions against four officials linked to the electoral commission, including Amoroso, in recognition of measures taken ahead of the July 28 elections. But the Venezuelan government and Amoroso vehemently rejected the lifting of sanctions, arguing it was selective and insufficient.
In a statement, the EU called on the National Electoral Council to reconsider its decision.
“The Venezuelan people should be able to choose their next president in credible, transparent and competitive elections supported by international observers, including the European Union, which has a long and impressive track record of independent and impartial monitoring,” the statement posted on Platform X said.
Earlier this year, Venezuela's electoral commission Set the presidential election for July 28th We invited various organizations to observe the contest. These decisions were made Agreement signed last year The conflict is between the Maduro government and the U.S.-backed opposition Unity Platform coalition.
In the agreement, signed in the Caribbean island of Barbados, both sides pledged to work towards improving conditions for free and fair elections, but the Venezuelan government continued to test its limits, including by blocking the candidacy of the president's main rival, a Venezuelan candidate. Maria Corina Machado.
Machado, a former congressman, won the presidential primary in October with more than 90% of the vote. But in January the country's Supreme Court overturned his election. confirmed the administrative decision blocking her candidacyHer chosen alternate candidate was also removed from the ballot.
Machado and his coalition are currently Former diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.
The United States allowed the Venezuelan government to lift economic sanctions after the agreement was signed in Barbados, but later removed them as hopes for a democratic opening faded.
In 2021, at the invitation of the Venezuelan authorities, the EU sent a mission to monitor local elections, including gubernatorial and mayoral elections. The mission concluded that the election campaigns were held under the following conditions: The situation is an improvement compared to recent elections in the country. But it was tainted by the use of public funds to favour government-backed candidates.
Election anomalies cited by investigators included delays in opening and closing polling stations, unfairly favorable coverage of the ruling party on state television, and the use of free food and other items as political leverage.
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