BRUSSELS: Venezuela’s beleaguered president Nicolas Maduro must step down immediately to make way for a peaceful transition through free and fair elections, European Parliament President Antonio Tajani said Thursday.
In a stronger statement than other EU leaders, who did not explicitly call for Maduro’s ouster, Tajani also described Venezuela’s self-declared leader Juan Guaido as Europe’s only legitimate interlocutor.
“In the face of general discontent, Maduro has to go now,” Tajani said in a statement.
“It is clear that the Venezuelan people are fed up with the illegitimate regime of Maduro, that did not win the presidency in free and fair elections and clings to power while imprisoning the opposition,” he said.
Tajani said the European Parliament, the European Union’s only elected body, will debate the crisis at a full session next week, adding no country in the world has received more attention in the assembly than Venezuela.
Tajani said he spoke anew with Guaido, the president of the National Assembly who has declared himself president.
“President Juan Guaido is the only institutional interlocutor in Venezuela because he is the one who enjoys democratic legitimacy,” he added.
“We are very concerned with the risks of violence and the repression of the regime in the face of massive protest marches,” the Italian politician said.
“A peaceful transition of power must be prepared through free and credible elections,” Tajani said.
He urged the EU and other world powers to help with a transition back to democracy in Venezuela.
Speaking on behalf of the 28-nation bloc, the EU’s diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini said the voice of the Venezuelan people “cannot be ignored” and called for “free and credible elections.”
She stopped short of calling for Maduro’s ouster and endorsing Guaido.
The United States, Canada and major South American nations quickly backed Guaido, leaving Maduro increasingly isolated. --AFP