CARACAS: Venezuela braced for fresh protests on Saturday after President Nicolas Maduro's election victory was recognized – and a growing number of countries recognized his rival as the real winner.
Both Maduro and the opposition, led by Maria Corina Machado and his presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, have called on their supporters to protest this weekend after the controversial vote. on Sunday.
The South American country's CNE election authority, which is loyal to Maduro, declared him the winner with 52 percent of the vote, while Gonzalez Urrutia got 43 percent.
But Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama and Uruguay recognized the opposition Gonzalez Urrutia as the real president-elect, with the United States and Peru rejecting the official results.
For his part, Maduro, 61 — who has reacted strongly to criticism of his victory — has described allegations of vote fraud as a “trap” orchestrated by Washington to justify a “coup”. .
He also threatened Machado and Gonzalez Urrutia, saying “they should go to jail.”
Maduro has led the oil-rich, cash-poor country since 2013, presiding over an 80 percent drop in GDP that has pushed more than seven million of Venezuela's 30 million once-wealthy citizens to emigrate.
Experts blame economic mismanagement and US sanctions for the crash.
Gonzalez Urrutia did not attend the Supreme Court hearing after Maduro asked the court to investigate and verify the election results.
However, other opposition candidates who were called to the hearing called for detailed vote counts to be made public after Sunday's vote, which was held amid panic. There is widespread concern that the vote will be rigged.
The records are “the basis of transparency, they are the basis of peace,” said Enrique Marquez, who also ran against Maduro as part of a smaller opposition group.
The opposition this week launched a website with a copy of 84 percent of the vote, showing an easy victory for Gonzalez Urrutia. The government says these are fake.
Machado, who was barred from running, wrote in The Wall Street Journal that he was in hiding and “fearing for my life,” along with other opposition leaders.
He called on supporters to gather on Saturday in cities across the country to “confirm the truth” about the opposition's victory.
“We have proof and the world knows it,” Machado wrote on X, his former Twitter account.
Maduro called for a daily campaign, with “the mother of all marches to celebrate the victory of peace” on Saturday.
The security forces accused the opposition of plotting an attack during their rally.
The NGO Foro Penal reported 11 deaths in protests on Monday and Tuesday as angry Venezuelans took to the streets, saying their votes had been stolen. Machado said at least 20 were killed.
Authorities say more than 1,000 people have been arrested in post-election protests.
This crackdown has caused fear among opposition supporters.
“We have dead, wounded, prisoners, missing people… People know that. They are afraid. They know they will face armed people,” said Katiusca Camargo, an activist in the Petare slum in eastern Caracas.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday that there is “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 urged “impartial verification” of the election results, also calling on Caracas to release the data destroyed by the election office.
Maduro's previous re-election, in 2018, was rejected by dozens of Latin American countries as well as member states of the European Union and the United States.
He enjoys the loyalty of military leaders, electoral boards, courts and other institutions, as well as the support of Russia, China and Cuba.
