European Parliament recognizes Edmundo González as president-elect of Venezuela

Ane Barcos-Aquí Europa The European Parliament today approved a resolution in which it urges the EU to “do everything possible” to ensure that “Edmundo González Urrutia, the legitimate and democratically elected president of Venezuela, can take office on January 10, 2025.” The motion for a resolution to this effect, tabled by the right-wing and far-right groups in the European Parliament and approved in the House, denounces electoral fraud in the presidential elections and calls on the EU and its Member States to request an international arrest warrant against Nicolás Maduro for “crimes against humanity”. The joint resolution recognising Edmundo González as the elected president of Venezuela was presented by the main right-wing and far-right groups in the European Parliament. The EPP Group, the Conservatives and Reformists group of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and the new far-right group Patriots for Europe, promoted by Viktor Orbán, joined forces in this initiative. Among the promoters were the Spanish MEPs Dolors Montserrat, Esteban González Pons, Antonio López-Istúriz White of the Popular Party and Hermann Tertsch of Vox. With 309 votes in favour, 201 against and 12 abstentions, the European Parliament condemns the regime of Nicolás Maduro for systematic violations of human rights, including political persecution and repression of the opposition. It also calls on the international community to support the restoration of democracy in Venezuela and to impose sanctions on those responsible for these crimes. The European Parliament also recognises Edmundo González Urrutia as the legitimate president after the elections of 28 July 2024 and urges “the Union and its Member States to request an international arrest warrant against Nicolás Maduro for crimes against humanity, based on all the serious violations of human rights he has committed”. However, the proposal to urge the EU and the Member States to make the same recognition of the “legitimate” president did not prosper. The Renew group proposed replacing this petition with a request to the International Criminal Court to include ongoing human rights violations and arbitrary detentions in its investigations into alleged crimes against humanity committed by the Maduro regime and hold those responsible accountable, although this amendment was not approved. PNV MEP Oihane Agirregoitia, the initial promoter of the debate on the situation in Venezuela and the vote on a resolution, proposed on behalf of her Renew group to replace the recognition of “Edmundo González Urrutia as the legitimate and democratically elected president of Venezuela” with “Underlines that Edmundo González appears to be the winner of the presidential elections by a large majority, according to the minutes of the vote that have so far been made available to the public.” This proposal was also not approved. Reproaches between PSOE and PP The debate prior to the vote in the Strasbourg parliamentary chamber on Tuesday provoked an exchange of reproaches between the Spanish left and right. The Popular Party accused the Spanish government of “double standards” for welcoming Edmundo González but not recognizing him as president-elect, while the socialists criticized the PP for instrumentalizing the Venezuelan crisis for partisan purposes. These differences were reflected in Thursday's vote, where the PSOE voted against the resolution proposed by the EPP and the ultraconservatives of Patriots for Europe and ECR. Gratitude from Edmundo González On his social network X, Edmundo González says: “Thank you! Venezuelans want the same thing that Europeans have achieved: to live in freedom and democracy.” “As president-elect, I thank the European Parliament for this recognition that transcends me; it is the recognition of the sovereign will of the people of Venezuela and the thunderous voice of a majority that demands that the truth be respected,” he says. “And my message to the Venezuelans: The international community continues to increase its support for the sovereign will of our people. "We are working tirelessly to make it count!" he concludes.

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