European Union observers who were in Venezuela for the regional elections, held on November 21, will be forced to leave the country days before their scheduled departure date.
EU mission analysts and staff officials will have to leave this weekend after the Chavez regime’s Foreign Ministry denied the extension of their visas, a person with knowledge of the situation told Bloomberg, on condition of anonymity.
The group planned to leave Venezuela on December 13, following a schedule that had been agreed with the National Electoral Council and authorized by the dictatorship.
According to the source interviewed by Bloomberg, they received an order to leave the country from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Electoral Council, and there was no justification for the interruption of the trip.
After the mission’s preliminary report was released, dictator Nicolás Maduro said the observers were “spies” and “enemies”, and that the document was an action to tarnish a “peaceful and democratic” electoral process.
The preliminary report said the current vote had better conditions than previous elections in Venezuela, but it also raised concerns about arbitrary banning of candidates, delays in opening polling stations and “extensive use of state resources in the campaign”.
The spokesperson and head of the mission, Isabel Santos, had already left the South American country at the end of November. The mission declined to comment on the visa status of its members.
The European Union sent a team of 130 people to oversee the vote in Venezuela. Observers still in the country were conducting interviews and continuing to gather information for the final report, which is due to be published in February.
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source https://pledgetimes.com/european-union-election-observers-are-expelled-from-venezuela/
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