PROTESTS broke out in several Venezuelan cities Monday after authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro was officially declared the winner by the country’s electoral authorities in a presidential race tainted by allegations of voter fraud.
In the capital Caracas, protesters blocked roads, while hundreds were seen walking down a main avenue banging pots and pans in protest against Maduro’s victory Sunday. At the city’s main military base, where Maduro lives, people were seen burning posters of the leader’s election.
Protests were also reported in other cities, including Maracay, where opposition activist Esthefania Natera told CNN people were in the streets “to shout and demand the truth because we know the real result.” She said police used tear gas against peaceful protesters. In the coastal state of Falcón, demonstrators tore down a statue of Maduro, as seen in videos on social media.
The next 24 hours will be key to see how Maduro responds to the charges against him. Analysts say there could be a new wave of discontent in the country if there are widespread protests against the regime. Street demonstrations in previous years have been crushed by the country’s military, which has long supported Maduro and his predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez.
Maduro smiled as he entered the National Electoral Council (CNE) before Monday’s ceremony where he was declared the winner, receiving cheers and congratulations from the crowd. The CNE, which is filled with Maduro allies, has yet to release final vote totals from Sunday’s election.
“Venezuela has the best electoral system in the world!” said CNE President Elvis Amoroso before proceeding with the official announcement.
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But the election was rife with claims of irregularities, including opposition witnesses being denied access to CNE headquarters as votes were counted and election authorities allegedly preventing more votes from being processed.
Maduro’s government controls nearly all state institutions, including the CNE, which in 2017 was accused of manipulating turnout figures by a software company that provided voting technology. The CNE has previously denied the allegations.
The opposition coalition, led by Maria Corina Machado, had previously rejected Maduro’s victory, saying opposition records showed opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez received 70% of the vote compared to 30% for Maduro. “We won, and everyone knows it,” Machado said. The coalition planned to make a statement Monday.
Read also: Nicolas Maduro Chosen as Election Candidate from Venezuela’s Ruling Party
Machado is part of a unified opposition movement that overcame its divisions to form a coalition known as the Democratic Unitary Platform. Their spirited campaign, which enjoyed strong polling numbers before Sunday’s election, was seen as the biggest challenge to Maduro’s government.
Call for Transparency
The United States is among regional leaders, including Peru and Chile, that have raised questions about the validity of the results.
Brazil, a key regional player, was more subdued but said it was awaiting “the publication by the National Electoral Council of data broken down by polling station, an important step for transparency, credibility and legitimacy of the election results,” according to a statement from the foreign ministry.
Read also: President Nicolas Maduro Announces Return of UN Human Rights Office to Venezuela
The U.S. on Monday joined Venezuelan civil society groups and the opposition in calling on the Venezuelan government to “immediately” release specific data on the presidential election, citing concerns about the credibility of Maduro’s victory.
Senior Biden administration officials said Venezuelan election authorities should release “detailed, polling station-level results” from the election. One senior official noted that the data is required under Venezuelan law and should be available immediately. Another said that if the election results are credible, “then this should be a very simple action and something they would be able to accomplish very easily.”
“If there is resistance to providing that additional information, then I think that becomes very problematic when it comes to the ability of the United States or other members of the international community to assess whether these elections were truly inclusive and credible,” the second official said.
“Our deepest concern right now is that the analysis and the data that we have about this election is at odds with the results that the Venezuelan authorities have announced. And so those differences, we think, need to be investigated and addressed before we can close the book on this election,” the second official added.
Officials declined to provide details on what action the U.S. or the international community would take if Venezuelan authorities do not release the data or if the results are found to be fraudulent, but they did not rule out sanctions.
U.S. sanctions on Venezuela were first imposed in 2017 and have gradually increased as the South American country’s political crisis has worsened in subsequent years. Opposition allegations have cast doubt on Venezuela’s return to the international stage after Maduro promised last year to hold free and fair elections in U.S.-brokered talks in exchange for sanctions relief.
The first official said they would initiate conversations in forums such as the Organization of American States (OAS) and the G7 about a “collective way forward.” (CNN/Z-3)
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