In July 2024, Venezuelans went to the polling stations despite the absence of appropriate conditions for free and fair elections. There is strong evidence that over 70% of Venezuelans voted for change. Yet, the politicised Electoral Council of Venezuela declared Nicolás Maduro as the winner with 51% of the votes.
The European Parliament called on the European Union to do its utmost to ensure that Edmundo González Urrutia, the legitimate and democratically elected President of Venezuela, can take office on 10 January 2025. The Parliamentary Assembly should explore, together with civil society groups and the opposition, ways to exert maximum pressure on Maduro’s regime and his inner circle to accept the democratic will of the Venezuelan people.
As stressed by the Venezuelan economist Jorge Jraissati, Maduro’s actions will have severe consequences within and beyond Venezuela, similar to the ones which have led close to eight million Venezuelans to flee the country in recent years and live in exile in Council of Europe member States.
The Assembly should address the situation in Venezuela, express political support for Venezuelan civil society groups and individuals who mobilise to promote democracy, human rights and the rule of law in the country, and reveal the assistance Maduro’s regime provides to Iran and the Russian Federation in relation to the latter’s aggression against Ukraine.