Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday that the winner of Venezuela’s presidential election was an opposition leader, not Nicolas Maduro, the socialist successor to President Hugo Chavez. Maduro has been claiming victory since July 28 and threatening the opposition, sparking widespread protests.
“Given the overwhelming evidence, it is clear to the United States, and most importantly, to the Venezuelan people, that Edmundo González Urrutia received the most votes in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election,” Blinken said.
President Maduro is widely believed to have lost before he could even declare victory, and many regional governments have cast doubt on the results.
Experts fear Venezuelan President Maduro could win Sunday’s election as opposition leads in polls
President Nicolas Maduro voted in the presidential elections in Caracas, Venezuela on July 28, 2024. (Associated Press)
Officials in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico are trying to persuade Maduro’s government to present the results of Sunday’s election and allow an impartial verification, a Brazilian government official told The Associated Press on Thursday. Doing so would erase doubts about the outcome, the official said. Argentina’s newly elected liberal President Javier Milley has called for continued anti-Maduro protests.
Maduro on Wednesday asked Venezuela’s Supreme Court to audit the election, a request that drew almost immediate criticism from foreign observers who said the court was too close to the government to conduct an independent investigation.
Opinion polls conducted over the summer consistently favored opposition candidates. Edmundo Gonzalez They won by double digits.
When the Maduro-controlled National Electoral Council announced around midnight that Maduro had won 51 percent of the vote to Gonzalez, the main opposition candidate, with 44 percent, its president, Elvis Amoroso, said the results were based on 80 percent of polling stations and indicated an irreversible trend.
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Opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez leaves a polling station with his wife Mercedes Lopez (center) and daughter Mariana after casting his vote during the 2024 presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela, on July 28. (Associated Press)
“Meanwhile, the democratic opposition has released more than 80 percent of the vote tallies it received directly from polling stations across Venezuela,” Blinken said. “The tallies show that Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia won the most votes in this election by an overwhelming margin.”
“The CNE rushed to declare Nicolás Maduro the winner of the presidential election without any supporting evidence,” the State Department said 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.”
Since the election, protesters have taken to the streets to express anger over the results, in some cases drawing a heavy-handed response from authorities. Blinken called on authorities to protect opposition leaders like Gonzalez and Maria Corina Machado, release arrested protesters, and ensure a peaceful transition of power.
Supporters of Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado hold up a photo during a campaign rally in Maracaibo on July 23, 2024. (Raul Albordea/AFP via Getty Images)
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“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 said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
