The European diplomatic service announced in a statement that the European Union will send a mission to observe the elections Venezuelan regional and local offices on November 21.
The European Chancellor, the Spanish-Argentine Josep Borrell, put the Portuguese Socialist MEP Isabel Santos, who is also a member of the Euro-Latin American Assembly, in command of the mission. Portugal is, with Spain, the country of the European Union with more interests In Venezuela.
The mission is sent after the invitation received in Brussels by the Venezuelan National Electoral Council and for elections that in principle they will not be boycotted by the democratic opposition.
Sending that European delegation does not suppose that the European Union is going to recognize the cleanliness of the elections but it does open that door after many years refusing to recognize elections organized by the Venezuelan regime.
Nicolás Maduro, during a ceremony with the agricultural sector in Caracas. Photo EFE
The organization of clean, fair and verifiable elections was always one of the European demands of Caracas if the Nicolás Maduro regime wanted Europeans to sanctions will begin to soften.
Brussels recalled on Wednesday that the European Union has not sent an electoral observation mission to Venezuela since it did in 2005 and 2006.
Changes
Chancellor Borrell explained the reason for the change: “There is going to be an unprecedented electoral process, with the participation of the majority of political forces for the first time in recent years, to elect more than 3,000 regional and municipal representatives in Venezuela, “he said.
“The European Union has not been present with an electoral observation mission in the last 15 years,” he added.
European diplomacy understands, like the Venezuelan opposition, that in November there would be conditions for a free and fair electoral process. And you want the mission to be powerful and have credibility.
Venezuelan opponent Juan Guaidó at a press conference in Los Palos Grandes, Caracas. Photo EFE
The election of the Portuguese MEP Isabel Santos is due, according to the statement, to the fact that “she is a respected parliamentarian with a lot of experience in electoral observation missions.” The mission “will do an independent study of all aspects of the electoral process and will propose recommendations to improve future elections ”.
Borrell considers that this European mission “can be an important contribution to support a peaceful solution to the crisis in Venezuela and a path towards credible, inclusive and transparent elections ”.
Experts
The mission will have 11 experts who will arrive in Caracas since mid-October. Before the end of that month, they will be joined by 62 long-term observers to spread out across the regions. Another 34 short-term and 20 hired in Venezuela will arrive last week to reinforce the election day.
The mission will not leave Venezuela until the electoral process is completed, review the tally and announcement of the results and will give a public press conference to explain his preliminary findings.
Almost a year ago, Foreign Minister Borrell had to explain to the national foreign ministers of the 27 member states of the European Union the work of European diplomacy trying to mediate in Venezuela. In September 2020 Borrell sent a diplomatic mission to Caracas -the fourth in two years- to try to negotiate in person with the Venezuelan leadership.
Among other things, they talked about the organization of elections that had the credibility and sufficient guarantees so that they would allow the participation of the opposition.
This mission met with the hierarchs of the regime but also with opposition leaders, businessmen, unions and members of the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. From that mission it was concluded that the conditions were not met for the European Union to send an electoral observation mission for the legislative elections of December 6, 2020.
A week before the mission was sent, in an interview with ‘Clarín’, Borrell said that at that time there were no conditions for free and fair elections. European diplomacy believes that now yes these conditions are met.
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