In this handout photograph taken and released by the Spanish Prime Minister’s office La Moncloa on September 12, 2024, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (L) meets with Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia at La Moncloa Palace in Madrid. Gonzalez Urrutia, 75, has not spoken publicly since he arrived in Madrid on September 8 to seek political asylum, having fled the Latin American country after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government ordered his arrest. Spanish lawmakers approved on September 11 a nonbinding motion calling on Sanchez’s government to recognize Gonzalez Urrutia “as the legitimate winner of the presidential elections,” angering Caracas which threatened to cut ties with Madrid in response. (Photo by Fernando CALVO / LA MONCLOA / AFP)
STRASBOURG, France — The European Parliament on Thursday passed a resolution recognizing Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as the country’s legitimate president after incumbent Nicolas Maduro claimed victory in a disputed election.
The vote, which is non-binding and does not reflect the stance of EU countries, came after center-right lawmakers teamed up with a new far-right grouping in a move denounced by the left.
Gonzalez Urrutia, who has fled to Spain, claims he was the winner of the July presidential election that gave Maduro a third six-year term, a claim recognized by the United States.
So far, however, Spain and other European Union nations have limited themselves to refusing to accept Maduro as the victor and calling on the Venezuelan government to release the voting tally sheets.
“The EU should do its utmost to ensure that Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, the legitimate and democratically elected president of Venezuela, can take office on 10 January 2025,” the European Parliament said.
The lawmakers, who passed the resolution by 309 votes for to 201 against, also urged the 27-nation bloc to impose sanctions on “Maduro and his inner circle”.
Gonzalez Urrutia, 75, thanked the European Parliament for the vote, calling it “the recognition of the sovereign will of the people of Venezuela.”
“My message to Venezuelans is this: The international community continues to increase its support,” he posted on X.
‘Illegal practice’
The Venezuelan parliament, where Maduro’s party holds an absolute majority since opposition parties boycotted elections in 2020, “categorically rejected the sinister aggression prompted by the fascist right of the European Parliament”, it said in a statement.
Referring to the EU Parliament’s support in 2019 of Juan Guaido, an opposition leader who proclaimed himself the winner of presidential elections, it denounced “the illegal practice of the European Parliament of recognizing false governments”.
The EU Parliament resolution also sparked controversy among leftist lawmakers after the main center-right bloc drew it up together with a new far-right grouping.
Patriots for Europe, which includes far-right parties such as France’s National Rally and Spain’s Vox, was formed after EU Parliament elections in June.
Leftist politicians slammed the willingness of the center-right European People’s Party to renege on pledges not to work with the far right.
“This deeply worrying act shows the conservatives’ total lack of scruples or any reluctance to ally themselves with political forces contrary to the fundamental values of democratic Europe,” said French MEP Raphael Glucksmann.
“We denounce it with the greatest firmness.”