Venezuela withdraws invitation to EU observers for July 28 Presidential election

Brussels – There will be no European observers in the upcoming elections in Venezuela. The government in Caracas has decided to withdraw the invitation it extended to the EU to send observers to the country to verify the smooth and proper conduct of the Presidential elections on July 28. It is an alarming sign for the democratic process, as Venezuela has been under scrutiny in recent years for the undemocratic practices of President Nicolás Maduro.

Venezuela’s unilateral withdrawal is worrying especially since the outgoing president is behind in the polls against the most important opposition candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia. The risk of holding elections without independent international observers is that they could be rigged more easily. In addition, the lack of a third-party body to verify their conduct would cause mutual accusations that would risk plunging the country into chaos. The current situation in Venezuela is red-hot: the economy is in recession, with three-digit annual inflation rates, street protests take place at ever shorter intervals, and human rights are not respected, with continuous police abuse. In this context, elections are likely to exacerbate the situation.

The European Union attacked the decision to withdraw the invitation through a post on X (formerly Twitter), “The Venezuelan people should be able to choose their next President through credible elections supported by international observation, including that of the European Union, which has a long and distinguished history of independent and impartial observation.” Elvis Amoroso, head of Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, responded that EU representatives “are not welcome to come here to our country while the genocidal sanctions against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and especially its government, are maintained.” However, the sanctions imposed by the 27 Member States do not affect the Venezuelan government, but only 54 officials accused of acts of repression or attempts to undermine democracy. The EU has also placed an embargo on arms sales.

It would not have been the first time the EU monitored the conduct of elections in Venezuela. In 2021, the EU accepted the invitation of the Venezuelan government and sent observers to monitor the voting procedures for regional elections. The mission concluded that the vote had been under better conditions than in recent years, but the use of public funds to benefit pro-government candidates still affected their outcome.

The road to the decision to vote next July 28 was turbulent. The clash between President Maduro and then-President of the National Assembly Juan Guaidó, which ended with the latter’s departure from politics, left many open wounds. In October 2023, however, the government and opposition signed, through the mediation of Norway, an agreement in Barbados in which they sanctioned the second half of 2024 as the time to hold free and independent elections. However, without international observers, the election process is unlikely to be verifiable.