Demonstrators burn rubber and objects during a protest against the re-election of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for a 3rd term a day after the Venezuelan presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela on July 29, 2024.
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Shops and public transport in Venezuela were closed on Wednesday as tensions over a disputed presidential election and rumors of opposition arrests and sporadic violence kept many people at home.
Socialist President Nicolas Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, was declared the winner of Sunday’s election by the electoral council. But the opposition said about 90% of the vote showed that its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, had more than double the support that Maduro had pulled.
As the dispute enters its third day amid demands for more transparency, the government insists it did not produce the full vote total at the polling station level due to a system hack originating in North Macedonia for the delay, without providing any evidence to support it. up.
The US-based Carter Center, one of the few independent monitors allowed to observe the election, announced in a statement late Tuesday that the election “cannot be considered democratic.” He said the process was lopsided in favor of Maduro and flawed throughout, describing the failure of electoral authorities to publish the split results as a “serious violation.”
In remarks broadcast on state television Wednesday, Maduro said he rejected all threats, including the possibility of new US sanctions.
Maduro promised that his socialist party was ready to release all the votes, and said he would ask the top court to force opposition parties to do the same.
On Monday morning, Venezuela’s election authorities – who the opposition accuses of being in Maduro’s pocket – announced that he had won back office, pulling in 51% of the vote, with a seven-point margin over Gonzalez.
But not long after, Venezuela’s main opposition alliance launched a website with detailed ballot-box-level vote counts covering the majority of the country’s 30,000 voting machines, including scans of vote tally prints from the machines.
As of Wednesday evening, the website showed the opposition hopeful Gonzalez with 67% of the vote against 30% for Maduro, representing almost 82% of the polling station data.
Reuters cannot verify the authenticity of each individual tally. However, independent polls showed a similar victory for Gonzalez.
Meanwhile, international pressure on the government has been mounted for the full release of the results, including from regional heavyweights the United States and Brazil.
At a session of the Washington-based Organization of American States, Brian Nichols, a senior US diplomat for Latin America, said Venezuela’s electoral authorities had failed to release a “clear” number of votes.
Either the officials didn’t want to confirm Gonzalez’s lopsided victory, or they needed more time to falsify the results, he said.
“Everyone can clearly see that Edmundo Gonzalez defeated Nicolas Maduro by millions of votes,” Nichols said, calling on Maduro and other foreign governments to concede defeat.
The dispute has sparked deadly and widespread protests that Maduro and his allies in the military have denounced as a coup attempt. Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday it had received reports of 20 deaths in post-election demonstrations.
Some of Maduro’s allies, such as Congress chief Jorge Rodriguez, say Gonzalez and high-profile opposition leader Maria Corina Machado should be arrested for their role in anti-government protests, including in longtime party strongholds.
The arrest of Gonzalez or Machado would mark a major escalation, following the arrest of two other opposition leaders this week, including the head of the Voluntad Popular party Freddy Superlano. The arrest was captured on video showing him being pushed into the back of an unmarked car surrounded by armed security agents.
Reuters witnesses in several cities have seen clashes between security forces and opposition protesters, as well as attacks on protesters by motorcyclists allied to the ruling party.
“I am alerting the world to the brutal and repressive escalation by the regime,” Machado wrote in X on Wednesday.
The popular ex-member of parliament was barred by a government-allied court from running for president, but he still managed to galvanize support behind Gonzalez, a retired diplomat, in a mass rally in the lead-up to the vote.
Two opposition sources, who asked to remain anonymous, told Reuters that the opposition was focused on forcing the government to release the full vote count.
Although previous waves of anti-government protests over the past decade have drawn international condemnation and hundreds of deaths, they have all failed to dislodge Maduro.
Many anxious residents retreated to their homes as many shops on the quiet street were closed. But new violent flashpoints are emerging.
Late on Tuesday, Luis Eduardo Roberto, 19, died in the city of Upata, capital of the state of Bolivar, after opposition protests.
The cause of death was a bullet to the head, according to the death certificate. Witnesses including the teenager’s father, Ricardo Roberto, said the motorcycle vigilantes shot him.
“I was angry,” he said. “They killed my son.”
Bolivar Governor Angel Marcano, a Maduro ally, confirmed the death but blamed protesters who threw stones.
In the capital Caracas, some shops were open, although the lines were long, and there was an increased military presence around the presidential palace.
Bus drivers in Maracay, about 75 miles (120 km) west of Caracas, stayed off work for fear of more violence.
