The regional and local elections held in Venezuela on 21 November failed to live up to democratic expectations, although they were an improvement on previous elections. The European Election Observation Mission has identified significant improvements in the conduct and transparency of the electoral process compared to other elections, but not enough, given that serious shortcomings persist, such as the arbitrary disqualification of opposition candidates, the abuse of state resources, unequal access to the media, lack of judicial independence and respect for the rule of law. This is coupled with a high level of abstention.
The Government of Spain calls on the Venezuelan authorities to put an end to these practices identified by the European Election Observation Mission and to quickly resume negotiations with the opposition to ensure that the upcoming presidential election is fully free and competitive.
Spain appreciates the fact that these regional and local elections were attended by the majority of Venezuelan political parties and expresses its willingness to work with the different actors in the electoral system to comply with the recommendations made by the EU Mission in its final report. It thus shares the objective of ensuring compliance with international standards in future electoral processes in agreement with both the authorities and the main opposition actors.
Non official translation
