Cardin, McCaul, Chairs of European Foreign Affairs Committees on Attempts to Undermine Venezuelan Elections

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, ledMichael McCaul (R-Texas), Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Chairs of the Foreign Affairs Committees of Armenia, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, and Ukraine in issuing a historic joint statement on Venezuela's widely disputed presidential election.

As first reported exclusively by Patricia Zengerle of Reuters,"The leaders of foreign affairs committees of the U.S. Congress and legislatures across Europe have joined to condemn the Venezuelan government's handling of last weekend's disputed election, according to a statement seen by Reuters, an unprecedented show of unity intended to pressure Caracas to release full vote tallies."

A link to the Reuters article can be found HERE, and the full statement is available below:

"As Chairs of Foreign Affairs Committees of our respective national parliaments, we strongly condemn the ongoing attempts in Venezuela to undermine the will of the voters and repress the Venezuelan people following Sunday's election. Based on the available evidence and statements from independent electoral observers, we do not recognize the National Electoral Council's (CNE) fraudulent and unverifiable declaration that Maduro won re-election as a legitimate representation of the Venezuelan people's will.

"We call on the Maduro regime to allow for transparent, independent verification of the electoral results immediately. The regime's deliberate efforts to undermine the country's electoral process - by failing to adhere to international standards of electoral integrity, restricting the freedoms of opposition political actors and the media, and harassing and intimidating those connected to the opposition's campaign, as documented by the Carter Center's electoral observation mission-are unacceptable and must be condemned.

"Ending the violent repression of Venezuelans and the persecution of opposition leaders Maria Corina Machado, Edmundo González, and their teams is an urgent imperative strongly shared by all of us, as is the urgent need for negotiations between the Maduro regime and Edmundo González to ensure a peaceful and democratic transition of power. Our governments are closely monitoring the situation in Venezuela, and will work together to hold Maduro accountable should he continue to disregard the democratic will of Venezuelan voters to steal yet another election.

"Amid this struggle, the democratic opposition has released an estimated 80% of the paper vote tallies from across the nation, revealing a resounding electoral victory for Edmundo González. This data is a representation of the voices of the Venezuelan people-voices that cannot be silenced by fraud or intimidation. The National Electoral Council's refusal to provide transparent documentation only deepens the crisis of legitimacy surrounding the Maduro regime. It is critical that these voices, so clearly and courageously articulated through the ballot box, are honored, and that the democratic process in Venezuela is fully restored."

Benjamin L. Cardin
Chair, Committee on Foreign Relations
Senate
United States of America

Michael McCaul
Chair, Committee on Foreign Affairs
House of Representatives
United States of America

Sargis Khandanyan
Chair of Foreign Affairs Committee
National Assembly
Republic of Armenia

Mark Demesmaeker
Chair, Foreign Affairs Committee
Senate
Kingdom of Belgium

Pavel Fischer
Chair, Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security Committee
Senate
Czech Republic

Marek Ženíšek
Chair, Foreign Affairs Committee
Chamber of Deputies
Czech Republic

Michael Aastrup Jensen
Chair, Foreign Affairs Committee
Folketing
Kingdom of Denmark

Marko Mihkelson
Chair, Foreign Affairs Committee
Riigikogu
Republic of Estonia

Jukka Kopra
Chair, Defence Committee
Parliament
Republic of Finland

Michael Roth
Chair, Foreign Affairs Committee
Bundestag
Federal Republic of Germany

Charlie Flanagan
Chair, Foreign Affairs Committee
Dáil Éireann
Republic of Ireland

Giulio Tremonti
Chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee
Chamber of Deputies
Italian Republic

Giulio Terzi
Chair of the EU Affairs Committee
Senate
Italian Republic

Inara Murniece
Chair, Foreign Affairs Committee
Saeima
Republic of Latvia

Žygimantas Pavilionis
Chair, European Affairs Committee
Seimas
Republic of Lithuania

Ina Coseratu
Chair of Foreign Affairs Committee
Parliament of Moldova
Republic of Moldova

Bogdan Klich
Chair, Foreign and European Affairs Committee
Senate
Republic of Poland

Titus Corlatean
Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee
Senate
Romania

Oleksandr Merezhko
Chair, Foreign Affairs Committee
Verkhovna Rada
Ukraine

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