Venezuela’s presidential election, held on Sunday, July 28th, was considered one of the most peaceful in recent memory. However, the aftermath has been far from tranquil. Thousands of people have taken to the streets after electoral authorities declared President Nicolás Maduro the winner, granting him a third six-year term. While most demonstrations were peaceful, tensions escalated when riot police used tear gas to disperse protesters who clashed with officers.
The opposition has vehemently contested the results, claiming that their candidate, Edmundo González, secured victory. They assert they possess evidence to substantiate this claim. The opposition’s ‘proof’ of victory hinges on allegations that Maduro’s ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela exerts tight control over the voting system. This control is reportedly facilitated by a loyal five-member electoral council and a network of longstanding local party coordinators, who have near unfettered access to voting centers. These coordinators are accused of preventing representatives from opposition parties from entering voting centers to observe the voting process, the vote counting, and obtaining copies of the machines’ final tally sheets.
Despite these challenges, opposition candidate Edmundo González and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado announced on Monday that they have obtained evidence of their victory. They claim to have secured more than 70 percent of the tally sheets from Sunday’s election, demonstrating that González received more than double the votes of Maduro. “I speak to you with the calmness of the truth,” González declared as supporters cheered outside campaign headquarters in Caracas. “We have in our hands the tally sheets that demonstrate our categorical and mathematically irreversible victory.” González and Machado have called for calm, urging supporters to gather peacefully to celebrate their claimed victory. “Dear friends, I understand your indignation, but our response from the democratic sectors is of calmness and firmness,” González said.
The international community has expressed serious concerns regarding the electoral process. Gabriel Boric, the leftist leader of Chile, deemed the results “difficult to believe”. The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that Washington had “serious concerns” that the announced tally did not reflect the actual votes or the will of the people. The National Electoral Council has yet to release the official tally sheets from the 30,000 voting machines, leaving the final outcome shrouded in uncertainty. Independent electoral observers and the European Union have urged the electoral body to release the results promptly.
