Venezuela: elections must be fair and free

“We have to raise our voices to denounce further attempts to undermine sovereignty and fixed elections that don’t even fulfil the minimum democratic standards and will only worsen the political, humanitarian and human rights situation that we are witnessing in Venezuela”, said José Ignacio Salafranca MEP, commenting on the situation in the country and on the Resolution adopted today in the European Parliament.

The text condemns the call of an illegitimate National Constituent Assembly to organise the presidential elections in April 2022 and calls for the extension of the EU sanctions imposed on the country in response to the breaches of human rights and democracy, to those responsible for violations of human rights, including the President, Vice-President, Minister of Defence, high military command and their inner circles.

“Can the rest of the world sit back with its arms crossed and watch Venezuela being destroyed? We need a very strong response from the EU”, exclaimed Salafranca. He also underlined that the EU needs to engage with other local and international actors, including the Lima Group (which gathers the representatives of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay and Peru) “to find a peaceful way to restore the voice of the people through a free electoral process with the participation of all actors.”

“The elections must be fair and free without exclusion and without ploys, without disqualifications or political prisoners, and accompanied by the international community. Otherwise the EU can’t give any kind of support or legitimacy to these elections and share the ideas of those people who are endangering the lives of those protesting on the streets”, he concluded.