By Blake Wolf, OAN Staff
Friday, August 2, 2024, 11:15 a.m.
Venezuela’s recent presidential election, sparked by claims of an unfair victory by current Socialist President Nicolas Maduro, has sparked a furor of protests across the country.
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“The overwhelming evidence makes it clear to the United States, and above all to the Venezuelan people, that Edmundo González Urrutia received the most votes in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
Meanwhile, opposition leader Maria Corina Machado claims that candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia is the one who actually won the election in a “landslide victory,” and has called for nationwide protests to pressure Maduro to concede defeat.
“Mr. Maduro did not win Sunday’s Venezuelan presidential election. He lost to Edmundo Gonzalez by a landslide margin of 67% to 30%. I know this is true because I can prove it. I have receipts directly from over 80% of the polling stations in the country,” Machado said.
Recent opinion polls show widespread support for Urrutia, beating the incumbent president by double digits.
“The CNE has abruptly declared Nicolás Maduro the winner of the presidential election without any supporting evidence,” the State Department said in a statement Thursday. “Since the election, we have consulted extensively with partners and allies around the world, and while countries have taken different approaches to their response, no country has concluded that Nicolás Maduro received the most votes in this election.”
President Maduro has denied all allegations of fraud and said candidates and their parties “instigated a coup” by contesting the results.
After the election results were officially announced, protesters were arrested as they expressed their dissatisfaction and claimed the results were inaccurate.
“I write this in hiding, fearing for my life and the freedom of my compatriots under the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro,” Machado said in a recent editorial.
Presidents of countries in the region, including Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, have called on Venezuela to release all documents related to the election results.
Additionally, newly elected Argentine President Javier Milley is also keeping an eye on the Venezuelan election results and has called for further protests against the Maduro regime.
“Now is the time for Venezuela’s political parties to begin negotiations for a respectful and peaceful transition of power, in accordance with Venezuela’s electoral law and the wishes of the Venezuelan people,” Blinken concluded.
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