:quality(75)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/elcomercio/XRPAKKK375GDNJWT62NMNOBN64.jpg "European Union expresses “concern” over the disqualification of pre-candidate María Corina Machado in Venezuela")
The European Union (EU) expressed this Monday its “deep concern” for the disqualification of pre-candidates for public office in Venezuelasuch as opposition presidential hopeful Maria Corina Machadoand suggested reviewing the role of the Comptroller General in the case.
In an official note, the office of the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrellexpressed concernby decisions aimed at preventing members of the opposition from exercising their fundamental political rights, as has been the case with Maria Corina Machado and other political figures”.
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Machado, from the most radical wing of the Venezuelan opposition, was disqualified from holding any public office for a period of 15 years.
The disqualification, imposed in 2015 for alleged administrative irregularities when she was a deputy (2011-2014), initially had a duration of 12 months, but on Friday the Comptroller General notified that the sanction was extended. The entity argued that it continued with the investigations.
The President’s Government Nicolas Maduro He defended the Comptroller’s decision and asked for non-interference in his internal affairs. “The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela categorically rejects the statement” from Borrell, said a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Venezuela “reiterates to the representatives of the European Union that the legality and legitimacy of the Venezuelan electoral process does not depend, nor will it depend, on any foreign actor (…) in this sense, it requires refraining from issuing interfering statements in order to preserve a respectful reciprocal relationship”, added the text.
The EU, which even sent an observation mission to Venezuela at the end of 2021, said that this team presented 23 recommendations for the country to improve its electoral processes.
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One of those recommendations, he recalled, proposed “suppress the prerogative of the Office of the Comptroller General to deprive citizens of their fundamental right to stand for election through an administrative procedure and without timely notification, which impacts on the right to defense”.
According to the EU, the bloc has insisted on a solution “peaceful and democratic, led by Venezuela, to put an end to the protracted political and social crisis” in that country.
“Credible, transparent and inclusive presidential elections in 2024 are a key part of that solution.”.
Source: Elcomercio
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