Venezuela, EU overcome impasse caused by Borrell's statements on election observation
Oct 19, 2021
Caracas [Venezuela], October 19 (ANI/Sputnik): Venezuela and the European Union have settled the controversy over EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell's statement implying that the Venezuelan government's legitimacy was subject to the bloc's final assessment of the nation's November elections, Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) said on Tuesday.
"After a telephone conversation between the president of the electoral administration Pedro Calzadilla and the head of the EU-EOM [EU Election Observation Mission] Isabel Santos, the impasse, created by the statements of the EU HR [High Representative] for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, is considered to be overcome," the CNE said on Twitter.
Santos, the statement says, reaffirmed Venezuela's commitment to follow the rules agreed between both parties for the deployment of election observers.
"Let there be no doubt that we will fulfill our commitment to observe the electoral process with impartiality, objectivity, independence and non-interference, respecting the administrative agreement signed with the National Electoral Council of Venezuela and our code of conduct," Santos wrote on Twitter.
Earlier in October, Borrell stated that the EU Commission's report on the Venezuelan elections would either legitimize or delegitimize the government of President Nicolas Maduro.
Venezuela then stressed that the EU misunderstood its role in the political process of Venezuela, losing the opportunity to position itself as a respectable and impartial party to international relations. The country's government demanded that the EU representatives refrain from manipulating the observers, threatening to bar the EU mission from monitoring the vote.
According to the CNE, ten members of the EU mission are already in the country, and their number is expected to reach 100 by the voting day on November 21. The EU mission headquarters will be set up in Caracas after October 28.
A total of 42 national political movements and 64 regional parties will take part in the legislative elections in Venezuela, including the right-wing opposition, which controlled the country's parliament since 2016 but refused to take part in subsequent vote. (ANI/Sputnik)
