EU Electoral Mission Depends on Venezuelan Opposition: Borrell

On Thursday, the European Union High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Josep Borrell said that the deployment of a mission of European electoral observers will depend on what the Venezuelan opposition does.

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"Whether there is a mission or not, that will depend on the role of the opposition... if the opposition stands in the elections, and if it comes together and wants to compete electorally, that can be a guarantee that there will be an electoral observation mission," said Borrell with reference to the subnational elections called in Venezuela for November 21.

On that day, Venezuelans will elect 23 state governors, 335 mayors, and representatives of the legislative councils.

Previously, on Sept. 8, Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) signed an agreement with the Council of Latin American Experts (CEELA) to deploy an observer mission for the upcoming elections.

The tweet reads, "Venezuela's Foreign Affairs Minister Felix Plasencia: We appreciate the efforts of the Special Rapporteur Alena Douhan, who made it clear that unilateral coercive measures, under the form of a collective punishment applied by the U.S. and EU, flagrantly violate international law."

CEELA brings together personalities of recognized experience in the organization of electoral processes in Latin America. Its members have held relevant positions in the electoral sphere of their respective countries.

For months now, the Venezuelan authorities have been inviting the United Nations and the European Union to send election observers. These invitations have also been issued in previous electoral processes held in this South American country.

Although the EU top authorities have not yet made the decision to send their delegates, the European External Action Service (EEAS) said it has been following "all the technical steps" to be able to send an observation mission to Venezuela, as reported by EFE.