The European Union cannot recognize the election result in Venezuela until all votes are counted and the necessary documents are provided, amid international concerns about the integrity of the vote , said the head of the EU's foreign policy, Josep Borrell, quoted by Reuters and BTA.
Venezuelan authorities said President Nicolas Maduro won a third term on Sunday with 51% of the vote. However, the opposition in the country announced radically different results.
Borrell noted that the electoral commission announced the results of the vote based on 80% of the ballots counted. According to him, this is the reason why the EU does not recognize the results. The 27-member bloc will decide on possible next steps only after the full results are published, he added.
The election results led to mass protests in Venezuela. The government denounced the demonstrations as an attempted coup.
The US-based Carter Center, which monitored the vote, said the election could not be considered democratic because it "did not meet international standards of electoral integrity.