Thousands of Venezuelans rallied in cities across the country to express their outrage over the contested presidential election results, which declared incumbent President Nicolas Maduro the victor. In the capital, Caracas, opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who had been in hiding, joined the masses of protesters, despite facing accusations of insurrection. Machado addressed the crowd, emphasizing the power of the people’s voice and asserting that their collective message could not be silenced.
The protesters, many waving flags and displaying patriotic symbols, took to the streets to assert their support for the opposition’s claim that they had won the presidency, rejecting the official results that granted Maduro another term in office. Demonstrations in Tokyo, Sydney, Mexico City, and several other cities were an effort by the main opposition coalition to make visible what they insist is the true outcome of the election. They also called upon governments to throw their support behind candidate Edmundo Gonzalez and express solidarity with Venezuelans who are fearful of speaking out against Maduro and his allies amidst a brutal repression campaign.
Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, whose members are loyal to the ruling party, declared Maduro the winner of the July 28 election hours after polls closed. Unlike previous presidential elections, the electoral body has not released the detailed voting data from the tally sheets to support its claim that Maduro earned 6.4 million votes while Gonzalez, who represented the Unitary Platform opposition coalition, garnered 5.3 million.
However, Gonzalez and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado stunned Venezuelans when they revealed that they obtained over 80% of the vote tally sheets issued by every electronic voting machine after polls closed. They asserted that these documents, which were uploaded to a website for public access, showed Gonzalez winning by a significant margin.
In Mexico City, some protesters held signs criticizing the Mexican government’s decision not to participate in a Friday hearing of the Organization of American States focused on Venezuela’s election crisis.
The international protests and the opposition’s claims of election fraud have intensified the political crisis in Venezuela, raising concerns about the legitimacy of Maduro’s presidency and the future of the country.
