BRUSSELS.- The European Union said in a statement on Sunday that Nicolás Maduro “cannot be recognized” as president of Venezuela following allegations of fraud committed by the dictatorship on July 28 and the lack of evidence to support that the elections were transparent and that Edmundo González Urrutia, the opposition candidate, won by a majority.
“In the absence of supporting evidence, the results published on 2 August (after the second bulletin) by the National Electoral Council cannot be recognised,” the Council of the European Union said in a statement, calling for “independent verification”.
The National Electoral Council (CNE), which is close to the dictatorship, ratified Maduro as the winner on Friday with 52% of the votes, above the 43% of González Urrutia, who represents Machado, who is prevented from running due to a political disqualification.
However, the Unitary Platform has data to prove the fraud that gives González Urrutia as the president-elect with more than seven million votes. Six countries, including the United States, already recognize the opposition candidate as President of Venezuela and dozens of other nations have asked the CNE to publish the detailed minutes so that Maduro’s victory can be confirmed.