Venezuela President Maduro brands EU electoral observers 'spies'

By

[1/2] Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro addresses the media at the Miraflores Palace, in Caracas, Venezuela October 15, 2021. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria

CARACAS, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday denounced members of the European Union's (EU) electoral observation mission who monitored voting last weekend as "spies," and accused them of looking to "stain" the regional elections on their preliminary report.

Local and regional elections enjoyed better conditions than during previous voting, the EU mission said on Tuesday, though they raised concerns about arbitrary bans on candidates for administrative reasons, delays in opening voting centers and "extended use of state resources in the campaign." read more

"They looked to stain the electoral process (in a report) and they couldn't. A delegation of spies - they weren't observers - wandered freely around the country, spying on the country's social, economic and political life," Maduro said during a broadcast on state television.

The mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Voting last weekend was the first time in 15 years that the EU sent a mission to observe Venezuelan elections. The team included 1,000 observers who monitored voting in 22 out of 23 elections and the full report will be presented in two months.

In this election, opposition politicians contested votes for the first time since 2017. However, they were roundly beaten, picking up just three our of 23 governorships and 117 mayoral positions, with the ruling party winning 210 mayoral races.

Several mayoral races had yet to be called, and one governor's office - in Barinas state, a Chavismo stronghold - has not been called either.

"The European Union couldn't stain the electoral process, it was impeccable, beautiful," Maduro said.

The President will hold meetings in "the coming hours" with opposition governors, he said, without giving further details. He also suggested the ruling Socialists could have lost in a few states and municipalities due to voters punishing the party at the polls.

While the ruling party picked up the most governorships, votes for the Socialists dwindled to fewer than 4 million, according to figures from the country's electoral authority, down from the 5.9 million it won during regional elections in 2017.

Reporting by Mayela Armas Writing by Oliver Griffin; Editing by David Gregorio

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Thomson Reuters

Since 2018 Mayela has reported for Reuters on Venezuela’s economy and general news from capital Caracas. She is particularly interested in covering the effects of Venezuela’s economic crisis and high inflation, especially concerning the effects this has on the day to day lives of people and families. She also writes about how the country’s finances are managed, as well as Venezuela’s main industries. Before she joined Reuters Mayela worked at local media outlets including Cronica Uno and El Universal, and also as a Caracas-based stringer for the Wall Street Journal. Contact: +58 424-1350265

Read Next