Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro, is facing increased criticism after protests erupted nationwide following the disputed presidential election results.
According to CNN, the election saw Maduro declared the winner by the electoral commission, but the results are highly contested.
The National Electoral Council officially announced Maduro as the winner late Sunday, with 80% of the ballots counted, stating he received 51.2% of the votes compared to Gonzalez’s 44.2%. However, the opposition has rejected these results, asserting their own counts show Gonzalez as the winner.
On Monday, they claimed to have over 73% of the tally sheets, indicating more than 6 million votes for Gonzalez and only 2.7 million for Maduro. Gonzalez and Machado affirmed that all their tallies had been verified and made available online for the public and global leaders.
In a private conversation on Monday with Brazilian foreign policy envoy Celso Amorim, Maduro promised to release all voting data, according to a knowledgeable source. Brazilian President Lula stated that the only resolution to Venezuela’s electoral dispute is to publish the vote tallies.
“There is a fight. How do you solve the fight? Publish the tallies,” Lula da Silva said in an interview aired on Brazilian broadcaster Globo.
Lula emphasized that both Maduro and the opposition must present their results. If discrepancies arise, the opposition should file an appeal and wait for a legal decision. He also criticized the impact of “external management” by other countries, asserting that the international community has an “obligation” to accept the results once the tallies are published.
At least six people were killed during the protests, and authorities have detained over 700 protestors. The army, which supports Maduro, has reiterated its loyalty to him. International bodies, including the Organization of American States, have refused to recognize the election results, citing a lack of transparency.
Maduro condemned the protests, labeling participants as violent criminals. In response, Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab reported 749 detentions and numerous injuries among military and police officers during the protests.
International reactions have been mixed, with some countries expressing doubts about the election’s legitimacy and others congratulating Maduro.
Venezuela’s main international airport has seen a surge in travelers attempting to leave the country before flights to Panama and the Dominican Republic are suspended.
Maduro has held power since the death of Hugo Chávez in 2013, and winning this election would secure his third consecutive six-year term, continuing the “Chavismo” ideology.