Maduro asks the world to “respect” his re-election, one month after the controversial result

Caracas, Aug 28 (EFE).- Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Wednesday asked the world to respect his victory in the July 28 elections, which has not been recognized by many countries, since the main opposition coalition, the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), denounced fraud and claims victory in the contest.

“With the morals we have, we demand that the world not meddle in Venezuela’s internal affairs and respect Venezuela’s sovereignty and internal life,” said the president, outside the presidential palace, in front of dozens of supporters who gathered to defend his victory at the polls.

He insisted that it is up to Venezuelan institutions to resolve political differences, referring to the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) ruling that validated the result announced by the National Electoral Council (CNE), both bodies controlled by people close to Chavez.

“The fascist, coup-mongering and violent right has failed again (…) today is a day of victory, of peace, today we have to say it again, one month after the victory of the Venezuelan people against the fascist currents,” he said.

He considered that, in the last 30 days, Chavismo, which has governed the country since 1999, has fought a “battle for the truth” and has won, because – he said – the country is “at peace”, after post-electoral protests and police operations that resulted in more than 2,400 arrests and 25 deaths, according to state sources, which do not include the total number of people arrested in recent weeks.

Maduro said that the Chavista people “came out in their millions in more than 100 cities in Venezuela,” referring to the demonstrations that took place in some regions of the country, also in favor of his reelection, according to the state channel Venezolana de Televisión, which broadcast some of these mobilizations, in addition to the one in Caracas.

On the same day, opposition leader María Corina Machado led a protest in eastern Caracas, while similar protests were held in other cities in the country and in several foreign nations, to reject the judicial validation of Maduro’s victory.

The PUD insists that its candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, won the presidential election by a wide margin, and has therefore published “83.5% of the voting records” collected by witnesses and polling station members on election night to reinforce its claim, which has the support of numerous countries and national and international organizations.

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