The Venezuelan opposition once again receives the Sakharov Prize for freedom of conscience awarded each year by the European Parliament. On this occasion, the candidate Edmundo González, today exiled in Spain, and the anti-Chavista leader María Corina Machado, proposed by the European People’s Party and the Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) led by the party of the far-right Giorgia Meloni, have been the winners. . Among the finalists were also the feminist organizations Women Wage Peace and Women of the Sun of Israel and Palestine (championed by the Social Democrats and Liberals) and the Azeri opposition Gubad Ibadoghlu (promoted by the Greens).
The announcement of the award was made by the president of the European Chamber, Roberta Metsola, after the decision that was made in the Conference of Presidents (the body analogous to the Board of Spokespersons of the Congress) with the support of the European People’s Party and the forces of the extreme right. The rest of the groups have opted for the other candidates.
Metsola has presented Edmundo González as “elected president representing all Venezuelans outside and inside Venezuela.” After a standing ovation, the Maltese woman assured that both “fight to restore freedom and democracy.” “In the face of injustice, Edmundo and María have continued to fight for a free, fair and peaceful transition of power and have appealed to those values that thousands of Venezuelans love,” Metsola added.
The award for Venezuelan opponents comes after Edmundo González went into exile in Spain with the approval of the Government of Nicolás Maduro following the investigation opened by the Prosecutor’s Office for allegedly “instigating insurrection” after the elections. The Venezuelan opposition denounced “fraud” in the elections after the national authority gave victory to Maduro. Opponents assure that the minutes demonstrate González’s victory in the elections of July 28.
The European Parliament recognized González as elected president of Venezuela with the votes of the EPP and the ultras. The EU has not taken that step and the international community is currently focused on pressuring Maduro to publish the minutes. In fact, it does not recognize Maduro’s victory. “The European Council remains extremely concerned about the situation in Venezuela and the human rights violations reported following the presidential elections of 28 July 2024. It urges the Venezuelan authorities to respect the democratic will of the Venezuelan people and put an end to violence, repression and harassment of the opposition and civil society. Political prisoners must be released. Only results that are complete and independently verifiable will be accepted and recognized,” the leaders of the 27 stated in the conclusions of the summit held last week.
The Venezuelan opposition already received the Sarajov prize in 2017. At that time the winners were Julio Borges, then president of the National Assembly, and political prisoners, including Leopoldo López and Antonio Ledezma. The award ceremony, which beyond the symbolic entails an endowment of 50,000 euros, will take place at a ceremony in Strasbourg in December. Last year the winners were Mahsa Amini and the women’s movement in Iran and the previous year, the Ukrainian people after the Russian invasion of the country.
On this occasion, among the finalists were also two feminist organizations that collaborate in Israel and Palestine and that seek a peaceful solution to the conflict that involves the recognition of the two states. The third nominee was Gubad Ibadoghlu, a lawyer held in Azerbaijan, where he has denounced government corruption. His candidacy was proposed by the Greens/ALE group and Metsola has recalled that his detention was “arbitrary” and has warned of the “deterioration” of his health at a time when he is under house arrest. When mentioning the finalists, the MEPs also applauded.
The coordination of the votes of popular, social democrats, liberals, greens and left made it possible to exclude from the race the magnate and owner of part Vox) and Sovereignists for Europe.
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