CARACAS: Venezuela prepared for new protests on Saturday after President Nicolás Maduro's disputed election victory was confirmed – and a growing number of countries recognized his opposition rival as the true winner.
Both Maduro and the opposition led by Maria Corina Machado and their presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia have called on their supporters to demonstrate this weekend following Sunday's controversial vote.
The South American country's electoral authority CNE, which is loyal to Maduro, declared him the winner on Friday with 52 percent of the votes cast and said Gonzalez Urrutia had received 43 percent of the votes.
But Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama and Uruguay recognized opposition candidate González Urrutia as the true elected president and, like the United States and Peru, rejected the official election results.
Maduro, 61, who has reacted strongly to criticism of his victory, described the allegations of electoral fraud as a “trap” orchestrated by Washington to justify “a coup”.
He also threatened Machado and Gonzalez Urrutia, saying they “should be behind bars.”
Maduro has led the oil-rich but financially weak country since 2013 and was responsible for an 80 percent decline in gross domestic product, forcing more than seven million of Venezuela's once 30 million citizens to emigrate.
Experts blame economic mismanagement and US sanctions for the collapse.
Gonzalez Urrutia failed to appear at a hearing before the Supreme Court after Maduro asked the court to investigate and certify the election results.
However, other opposition candidates invited to the hearing demanded that the detailed vote result be made public after Sunday's vote, which took place amid widespread fears that the vote could be rigged.
Voting behavior is “fundamental for transparency, it is fundamental for peace,” said Enrique Marquez, who also ran against Maduro as part of a smaller opposition group.
The opposition launched a website this week with copies of 84 percent of the votes cast showing an easy victory for Gonzalez Urrutia. The government claims the votes were fraudulent.
Machado, who was not allowed to run herself, wrote in the Wall Street Journal that she was underground and, along with other opposition leaders, “feared for her life.”
She called on her supporters to gather in cities across the country on Saturday to reveal “the truth” about the opposition's victory.
“We have the evidence and the world already recognizes it,” Machado wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Maduro has called for daily mobilizations, with the “mother of all marches to celebrate the victory of peace” on Saturday.
He accused the opposition of planning attacks on the security forces during their rallies.
The non-governmental organization Foro Penal reported 11 deaths in protests on Monday and Tuesday, when angry Venezuelans took to the streets claiming their votes had been stolen. Machado said at least 20 people were killed.
According to authorities, more than 1,000 people were arrested in post-election protests.
This harsh approach has caused fear among opposition supporters.
“We have dead, injured, prisoners, missing people… People know. They are afraid. They know they will face armed people,” says Katiusca Camargo, an activist in the Petare slum in eastern Caracas.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday that there was “overwhelming evidence” that Gonzalez Urrutia won the election.
Blinken spoke with Machado and Gonzalez Urrutia on Friday, expressing “his concern for their safety and well-being” and congratulating Gonzalez Urrutia “for receiving the most votes,” the State Department said.
In a joint statement, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico called for an “impartial verification” of the result and also demanded that Caracas publish the election data broken down by polling station.
Maduro's last re-election bid in 2018 was rejected by dozens of Latin American countries, as well as the United States and European Union member states.
He enjoys the loyalty of the military leadership, electoral bodies, courts and other state institutions and also has the support of Russia, China and Cuba.
