After Venezuela’s elections in late July, in which incumbent socialist President Nicolás Maduro declared victory for another term, the European Union’s foreign service said it would not recognize the results because the government had failed to release supporting voting records from polling stations.
The authoritarian Maduro’s disputed declaration of victory sparked massive opposition protests and a violent government crackdown that left more than two dozen people dead and nearly 200 injured.
Later, presidential candidate González — who fled to Madrid during the crackdown — was recognized by the European Parliament as the country’s legitimate leader.
The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is named in honor of Andrei Sakharov, the Soviet physicist and political dissident. Shortlisted candidates are traditionally invited to the Parliament’s award ceremony, which takes place during the December plenary session in Strasbourg.
The other two candidates on the shortlist were Gubad Ibadoghlu, a jailed Azerbaijani dissident and critic of the fossil fuel industry who was nominated by the Greens; and Israeli and Palestinian peace organizations Women Wage Peace and Women of the Sun, who were nominated by the Socialists and the Renew group.
Venezuela’s democratic opposition also won the award in 2017.
