Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel stated on Thursday that several European Union (EU) countries, including Portugal, “are not in a position to recognize the victory” of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela’s presidential elections.
“We are not in a position to recognize the victory of President Maduro, who is the current president, because there are still no electoral records,” he said in statements to journalists in Brussels, on the sidelines of an EU ministers’ meeting. “Without them, it is not possible to validate or make this recognition.”
The “increase in repression” in Venezuela was also discussed, with “arbitrary arrests, several people detained with health problems, and restrictions on freedom of expression.”
“This hardening of the regime is condemned by the EU and also by the Member States, including Portugal. We continue in close contact with all EU countries, but also with Brazil and Colombia, Chile and Mexico, always with the aim of finding a solution that can allow a transition in which all parties can dialogue and guarantee democracy, freedom of expression and electoral results,” he added.
Venezuela, a country with a significant community of Portuguese and Portuguese descendants, held presidential elections on July 28, after which the National Electoral Council (CNE) attributed victory to Maduro with just over 51% of the votes, while the opposition claims that their candidate, former diplomat Edmundo González Urrutia, obtained almost 70% of the votes.
The Venezuelan opposition and several countries in the international community have denounced electoral fraud and demanded that the voting records be presented for independent verification, which the CNE says is unfeasible due to an alleged “cyberattack” it suffered.
The election results have been contested in the streets, with demonstrations repressed by security forces, resulting in thousands of arrests and dozens of deaths and injuries.
