US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says there is “overwhelming evidence” that Maduro’s opponent, Edmundo Gonzalez, won the election, and US authorities have now officially recognized Gonzalez as the election’s winner.
– The results of the Maduro-led electoral authorities were wrong, and it led to an outcome that is not in line with the will of the Venezuelan people, he says.
On the night of Friday Norwegian time, Venezuela’s Supreme Court announced that it will investigate the disputed presidential election, and has asked all the candidates to present their vote numbers.
Maduro called for an investigation
The Supreme Court announcement comes the day after incumbent President Nicolás Maduro submitted a formal request to the Supreme Court on Wednesday to review the election results, which a number of heads of state and international organizations have expressed concern about.
Maduro claims he won the election with 51.2 percent of the vote, contradicting election day polls that suggested 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.
Machado calls for demonstrations
Machado, who was originally supposed to be the opposition’s presidential candidate before she was blocked from running, is calling on the Venezuelan people to demonstrate against Maduro and his government.
– We must stay united and organised, and we must mobilise. The whole world is going to see the strength and determination of a society that is determined to live in freedom, she says in a video shared on social media.
On Thursday evening, Machado wrote in an article in the Wall Street Journal that she has had to hide since the election, and that she fears for her life.
– I fear for my life, my freedom and the freedom of all my compatriots who live in this dictatorship ruled by Maduro, she wrote.
The Carter Center: Not independent
The Carter Center in the United States doubts that the court can conduct an independent investigation, pointing to the court’s loyalty to Maduro and the current government.
– 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.
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2024-08-04 08:35:56
