In its first preliminary report on the regional and local elections in Venezuela, which was presented in Caracas on Tuesday, the EU observer mission noted a number of serious shortcomings.
Among other things, she criticizes the lack of independence of the judiciary in Venezuela, which has led to the arbitrary exclusion of opposition candidates from all political camps.
The situation is similar, according to the report, with the media, which are largely in the hands of the government or are controlled by it.
According to the report, this resulted in uneven reporting in favor of the ruling Socialist Party during the election campaign.
Tjerk Brühwiller
Correspondent for Latin America based in São Paulo.
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In addition, the mission was able to observe the use of state funds for the election campaign, a clear violation of the rules that was not sanctioned.
For example, the privileged access to scarce fuel and the distribution of goods such as food parcels or gas cylinders by state actors on behalf of the ruling party are mentioned.
During election day, so-called Socialist Party checkpoints were also observed in all states.
In addition to minor incidents on election day, an event in the state of Zulia was particularly highlighted, where shots were fired in front of a polling station on Sunday and one person died.
The mission has so far not found any defects in the technical electoral system itself, which is why it classifies it as reliable.
The observer mission, which was present with a total of 136 observers in Venezuela, describes the elections as a "first, important test" for the return of most of the opposition parties to politics in Venezuela.
Compared to the last three elections, the conditions have improved, said the chief observer Isabel Santos, which was due to the participation of the opposition and a more balanced composition of the supreme electoral council as a result of the dialogue between the government and the opposition.
The observer mission will present a detailed final report at the end of January in which it will also formulate its suggestions for improvement.
Report should not be instrumentalized
Santos underlined the importance of dialogue in order to achieve the necessary improvements. The Portuguese was touched at the press conference on Tuesday. It has been the most moving of the missions she has been involved in over the past ten years. The mission was warmly received by the population. “The Venezuelans wanted this mission. They want dialogue, ”said Santos. She urged the political actors in Venezuela not to misuse the mission's observations for political purposes.
During the regional elections on Sunday, the main opposition parties were represented for the first time in five years. For the first time in 15 years. the election was also accompanied by an international observer mission. Despite a lack of guarantees, the opposition decided to participate in September after a failed attempt to oust ruler Nicolás Maduro from power through the appointment of Juan Guaidó as interim president, backed by the United States and a good part of the international community. Although the socialists were able to prevail in the election, the opposition recorded a considerable increase in votes and a few significant victories.
The United States, which continues to hold on to Guaidó, sharply criticized the elections on Monday.
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the Maduro regime had withheld Venezuelans from participating in a free and fair trial.
Sections of the opposition see it the same way and do not believe that Maduro is interested in fair elections.
The report of the EU observer mission supports Washington’s criticism in part.
However, the need for dialogue to improve the conditions for future electoral processes is highlighted.
Santos said the report should not be used politically.
It is a technical inventory and an instrument to improve processes in the country.
"We will fight any attempt to interpret the report in favor of partisan interests," she said.