Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado (L) and Venezuelan presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia (R) greet supporters at Gonzalez Urrutia's campaign rally in Caracas, Venezuela, 25 July 2024 (re-issued 24 October 2024). The European Parliament's President Roberta Metsola on 24 October 2024 announced Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia the winners of the 2024 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, following the meeting of the Conference of Presidents which took the decision. EPA-EFE/ROONALD PENA RVenezuela held a presidential election in July, with the opposition publishing vote tallies it said show Gonzalez won a resounding victory. But the national election board declared incumbent Nicolas Maduro the winner, and Gonzalez – who is wanted by Venezuelan authorities – fled to Spain.
"Edmundo and Maria have continued to fight for the free, fair, and peaceful transition of power and have fearlessly upheld those values that millions of Venezuelans and this parliament hold so dear: justice, democracy and the rule of law," European Parliament president Roberta Metsola said.
The Sakharov Prize was launched in 1988 and is awarded to individuals and organisations defending human rights and democracy.
Last year, the parliament gave the prize to Iranian woman Mahsa Amini who died in police custody and the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement in Iran.
(Reporting by Lili Bayer, editing by Tassilo Hummel)
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