Maduro is asking Venezuela’s top court to review the election results

The Carter Center in the United States issued a statement on Wednesday saying that Venezuela’s Supreme Court will not be able to conduct an independent review of the presidential election.

– Here you have another government institution that has been appointed by the government to verify the government’s figures from the election results. This is not an independent review, says Carter Center Senior Advisor Jennie K. Lincoln.

The Atlanta-based group said earlier this week that it could not verify the results of Sunday’s election.

Maduro claims victory

The statement came after Maduro earlier on Wednesday submitted a formal request to the Supreme Court to review the election results.

Maduro told reporters that the authorities are also willing to present an overview of all the votes.

Maduro claims he won the presidential election with 51.2 percent of the vote, contrary to polls on election day that suggested his rival Edmundo González had won.

González himself, as well as opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, have said that González received 70 percent of the vote. The opposition believes printouts from the electronic voting machines after polling stations closed on Sunday prove that Maduro lost the election.

International pressure

Maduro’s decision to go to the Supreme Court came as international pressure against him has increased since the election. His close ally, Colombian President Gustavo Petro, on Wednesday joined a number of foreign leaders who have urged Maduro to make public all the details of the election. From before, the G7, the USA, Brazil and the EU, among others, have demanded a review of the election results.

The Organization of American States (OAS), which has 35 member states, said on Tuesday that it cannot recognize the results of the presidential election.

At least four people have been killed and 749 people arrested during protests after the election.