The European Union will only recognize elections in Venezuela if opposition leader María Corina Machado is eligible

The European Parliament issued a resolution condemning the recent attacks against the opposition in Venezuela and the interference by Nicolás Maduro's regime in the electoral process. In addition, Parliament rejected the decision of the Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela to disqualify María Corina Machado from holding public office and maintained that it has no legal basis.

The resolution was approved with 446 votes in favor, 21 against and 32 abstentions. The resolution also rejected attempts to prevent other opposition politicians, such as Henrique Capriles, from accessing public office.

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The European Parliament explained that the European Union should not consider sending any electoral observation mission to Venezuela until there are clear and credible guarantees that the Barbados Agreement and the electoral roadmap are fully respected, until opposition politicians are no longer disqualified from holding public office and until María Corina Machado is allowed to participate in the elections.

"The elections or the electoral results will not be recognized if these conditions are not respected," states the joint resolution from several European parties.

One of the most notable speeches was that of the conservative MEP Hermann Tertsch, who insisted that there must be massive pressure from the international community against the Venezuelan dictatorship. He recalled that María Corina Machado won the Venezuelan opposition primaries with more than 90% of the vote and pointed out that if the democratic world does not promote political change in Venezuela, it will become a dictatorship like that of Cuba, which was established 65 ago.

"If people of good faith do not fully understand that only the massive international pressure of harassment on the criminal dictator can give rise to hope, neither the heroic María Corina nor anyone else will bring down Maduro the murderer. Only strength will work. He must be thrown out. Don't ask him to leave," Tertsch said.

Maintaining sanctions imposed on the Maduro regime

"The declaration of the TSJ of the regime is unconstitutional and illegal, given that it derives from arbitrary and politically motivated accusations, and that the procedure followed did not comply with the law; considers, therefore, that the decision of the TSJ appointed by the regime lacks a legal basis and that María Corina Machado can still run for office," said the resolution approved this Thursday.

Parliament urged its member countries to "maintain the sanctions imposed on the Maduro regime." Furthermore, it insisted that sanctions must be intensified until there is a clear and permanent commitment, in line with the Barbados Agreement, to uphold basic democratic norms, the rule of law and human rights.

The resolution also "calls for more selective sanctions, through the EU's global human rights sanctions regime (Union Magnitsky Law), against the judges of the Supreme Court of Venezuela."