CARACAS: Venezuela braced for fresh protests Saturday, after President Nicolas Maduro\u2019s disputed election victory was ratified \u2014 and a growing number of nations recognized his opposition rival as the true winner.
Both Maduro and the opposition, led by Maria Corina Machado and her presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, have called on their supporters to demonstrate this weekend, in the wake of Sunday\u2019s controversial vote.
The South American country\u2019s CNE election authority, which is loyal to Maduro, on Friday proclaimed him the winner with 52 percent of the vote and said Gonzalez Urrutia had garnered 43 percent of ballots.
But Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama and Uruguay recognized opposition Gonzalez Urrutia as the true president-elect, joining the United States and Peru in rejecting the official results.
For his part, the 61-year-old Maduro \u2014 who has reacted fiercely to criticism of his victory \u2014 described allegations of vote fraud as a \u201ctrap\u201d orchestrated by Washington to justify \u201ca coup.\u201d
He also has threatened Machado and Gonzalez Urrutia, saying they \u201cshould be behind bars.\u201d
Maduro has led the oil-rich, cash-poor country since 2013, presiding over a GDP drop of 80 percent that pushed more than seven million of once-wealthy Venezuela\u2019s 30 million citizens to emigrate.
Experts blame economic mismanagement and US sanctions for the collapse.
Gonzalez Urrutia did not show up to a hearing at the Supreme Court after Maduro requested the tribunal investigate and certify the election result.
However, other opposition candidates summoned to the hearing called for a detailed vote count to be made public after Sunday\u2019s vote, which was held amid widespread fear the vote would be rigged.
Voting records \u201care fundamental for transparency, they are fundamental for peace,\u201d said Enrique Marquez, who also ran against Maduro as part of a smaller opposition group.
The opposition this week launched a website with copies of 84 percent of ballots cast, showing an easy win for Gonzalez Urrutia. The government claims these are forged.
Machado, who was barred from running herself, wrote in The Wall Street Journal that she was in hiding and \u201cfearing for my life,\u201d along with other opposition leaders.
She called on supporters to rally Saturday in cities across the country to \u201cassert the truth\u201d about the opposition\u2019s victory.
\u201cWe have the evidence and the world already recognizes it,\u201d Machado wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Maduro has called for daily mobilization, with \u201cthe mother of all marches to celebrate the victory of peace\u201d on Saturday.
He accused the opposition of plotting attacks against security forces during their rallies.
The NGO Foro Penal reported 11 dead in protests Monday and Tuesday as angry Venezuelans took to the streets, saying their votes had been stolen. Machado said at least 20 people had been killed.
Authorities said more than 1,000 people were arrested in post-election protests.
That crackdown has sparked fear among opposition supporters.
\u201cWe have dead, wounded, detainees, missing people\u2026 People know it. They are afraid. They know they are going to find themselves facing armed people,\u201d said Katiusca Camargo, an activist in the Petare slum in eastern Caracas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday there was \u201coverwhelming evidence\u201d that Gonzalez Urrutia had won the election.
Blinken spoke with Machado and Gonzalez Urrutia on Friday, expressing \u201chis concern for their safety and well-being\u201d and congratulating Gonzalez Urrutia \u201cfor receiving the most votes,\u201d the State Department said.
In a joint statement, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico urged an \u201cimpartial verification\u201d of the result, also calling for Caracas to publish voting data broken down by polling stations.
Maduro\u2019s previous reelection, in 2018, was rejected by dozens of Latin American countries as well as the United States and European Union member states.
He enjoys loyalty from the military leadership, electoral bodies, courts and other state institutions, as well as the backing of Russia, China and Cuba.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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