FILE PHOTO: Venezuela's opposition leader Maria Corina Machado is seen on a laptop screen during a virtual press conference in Caracas, Venezuela September 9, 2024. REUTERS/Gaby Oraa/File Photo
(Reuters) -The European Parliament on Thursday handed its annual Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to Venezuelan opposition leaders Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez for "representing the people of Venezuela fighting to restore freedom and democracy."
Venezuela 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.
