US, EU lawmakers call on Maduro to cede power to Gonzalez
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The lawmakers claimed that the election was fraudulent and that there is allegedly sufficient evidence to support the claim that Gonzalez won the presidential election on Sunday.
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Police block protesters during demonstrations against the official election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro's reelection, the day after the vote at a highway in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Matías Delacroix)
US and European lawmakers responsible for foreign affairs issued a joint statement on Friday claiming that opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez won Venezuela's presidential election and vowing to hold President Nicolas Maduro accountable if he refuses to relinquish power.
"Our governments are closely monitoring the situation in Venezuela, and will work together to hold Maduro accountable should he continue to disregard the democratic will of Venezuelan voters to steal yet another election," the statement said.
US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Ben Cardin and US House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, along with their counterparts from Armenia, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, and Ukraine, issued a joint statement rejecting Maduro's reelection. They argued that the electoral victory should go to opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez.
The lawmakers claimed that the election was fraudulent and that there was allegedly sufficient evidence to support the claim that Gonzalez won the presidential election on Sunday.
The joint statement also urged Maduro and Gonzalez to begin negotiations on a peaceful transition of power.
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Last Sunday, Maduro was declared the winner of Venezuela's presidential election by the electoral authority. The announcement sparked nationwide riots and violence, driven by opposition claims of electoral fraud and widespread skepticism over the results.
This plays out as a déjà vu of what the US did during the last elections in Venezuela.
Venezuela was thrown into a political crisis in January 2019 when Juan Guaido, the former head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, backed by the US, declared himself interim president in an attempt to depose Maduro.
The US still acknowledged Guaido's government and called Maduro "illegitimate". US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thusday stated that the US would recognize opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez as the winner of Sunday's elections in Venezuela. Argentina and Ecuador also recognized Gonzalez as the victor.
But Maduro announced on Wednesday that his United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) was prepared to provide 100% of its vote records after Sunday's presidential election, and earlier today, the country's Supreme Court has initiated an audit of the presidential election results and summoned all candidates for testimony.
"[The court] has accepted, supported and initiated an investigation and verification process in order to ultimately determine the results of the election," the statement released on Thursday read.
The court has summoned all 10 presidential candidates to provide testimony before the Electoral Chamber on August 2.
Read more: Iran welcomes Venezuela's election results, rejects 'foreign pressure'
