30-7-2024 (CARACAS) In a dramatic turn of events following Venezuela’s contentious presidential election, opposition candidate Edmundo González has declared victory, challenging the official results that saw incumbent President Nicolás Maduro secure his third consecutive term.
As thousands of demonstrators took to the streets across Venezuela, González and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado held a press conference on Monday, asserting they possess irrefutable evidence of their triumph. The pair claimed to have obtained over 70% of the tally sheets from Sunday’s election, purportedly showing González with more than double the votes of Maduro.
“I address you with the serenity of truth,” González stated, addressing a crowd of enthusiastic supporters outside his campaign headquarters in Caracas. “We hold in our hands the tally sheets that demonstrate our decisive and mathematically irreversible victory.”
Queridos venezolanos, mañana nos encontramos; en familia, organizados, demostrando la determinación que tenemos de hacer valer cada voto y de defender la verdad.
Nos vemos frente a las Naciones Unidas, en la Av. Francisco de Miranda en Los Palos Grandes, de 11:00am a 12m.… pic.twitter.com/MBBe8kKUWl
— María Corina Machado (@MariaCorinaYA) July 30, 2024
This bold declaration came in the wake of the National Electoral Council’s official announcement naming Maduro as the winner. The council, widely regarded as loyal to Maduro’s United Socialist Party of Venezuela, has awarded him another six-year term, further entrenching his grip on power.
The opposition’s claims have ignited a wave of protests across the nation, with demonstrators calling for transparency and respect for the democratic process. In Caracas, while most demonstrations remained peaceful, tensions flared when riot police blocked a protest caravan, resulting in clashes and the use of tear gas to disperse crowds.
González and Machado have called for calm, inviting supporters to gather peacefully on Tuesday morning to celebrate what they assert are the true results. Machado disclosed that the tally sheets in their possession indicate Maduro received approximately 2.7 million votes, compared to González’s 6.2 million.
The opposition’s claims highlight the deep-seated issues within Venezuela’s electoral system. While the country employs electronic voting machines that provide paper receipts, the ruling party’s tight control over the process has long been a source of contention. Opposition representatives have reportedly been barred from entering voting centres to witness the counting process and obtain copies of the final tally sheets.
As of Monday evening, the electoral authorities had yet to release the tally sheets for each of the 30,000 voting machines, with the electoral body’s website experiencing downtime. This lack of transparency has prompted independent observers and the European Union to publicly urge the release of these crucial documents.
The international community has responded cautiously to the situation, with several foreign governments, including the United States and the European Union, refraining from recognising the election results. Chile’s leftist leader, Gabriel Boric, described the results as “difficult to believe”, while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed “serious concerns” about the announced tally’s accuracy.
In response to international criticism, Venezuela’s foreign affairs ministry announced the recall of its diplomatic personnel from seven American countries, including Panama, Argentina, and Chile, requesting reciprocal action from these nations.
