CARACAS: Venezuela braced for fresh protests on Saturday after President Nicolas Maduro's disputed election victory was ratified, with a growing number of countries recognising his opposition rival as the true winner.
Maduro and the opposition led by Maria Corina Machado and her presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia have called on their supporters to protest this weekend following Sunday's disputed vote.
The CNE, the South American country's election watchdog, which is loyal to Maduro, declared Maduro the winner on Friday with 52% of the vote, while Gonzalez Urrutia received 43%.
However, Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama and Uruguay recognized opposition candidate Gonzalez Urrutia as the true president-elect, and along with the United States and Peru rejected the official results.
Maduro, 61, has reacted fiercely to criticism of his victory, describing allegations of voter fraud as a “trap” engineered by Washington to justify a “coup.”
He also threatened Machado and Gonzalez Urrutia, saying “they should go to jail.”
Since Maduro has led the oil-rich but cash-strapped country in 2013, GDP has fallen by 80 percent and more than 7 million of Venezuelans' once-wealthy population of 30 million have emigrated.
Experts cite economic mismanagement and U.S. sanctions as causes of the collapse.
Gonzalez Urrutia has not appeared for Supreme Court hearings since Maduro asked the court to investigate and certify the election results.
But other opposition candidates summoned for the hearing demanded that detailed vote counts be released after Sunday's vote, which took place amid widespread concerns that the vote would be rigged.
The voting record is “fundamental for transparency and fundamental for peace,” said Enrique Marquez, who ran as part of a small opposition group against Maduro.
The opposition this week launched a website with copies of 84% of the ballots showing an easy victory for Gonzalez Urrutia, which the government claims were forged.
Machado, who was banned from running, wrote in the Wall Street Journal that like other opposition leaders, he was in hiding and “fearing for his life.”
She urged supporters to rally in cities across the country on Saturday to “claim the truth” about the opposition's victory.
“We have the evidence, and the world already recognizes it,” Machado wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Maduro called for daily mobilizations, including Saturday's “mother of all marches to mark the triumph of peace.”
He accused opposition forces of planning attacks against security forces during the rally.
The NGO Foro Penal reported that 11 people were killed in protests on Monday and Tuesday as angry Venezuelans took to the streets, claiming their votes had been stolen. Machado said at least 20 people were killed.
Authorities said more than 1,000 people were arrested during post-election protests.
The crackdown has sparked fear among opposition supporters.
“We have dead people, wounded, detainees, missing people… People know it. They are afraid. They know they will face armed people,” said Katiuska Camargo, an activist in the Petare slum east of Caracas.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday there was “overwhelming evidence” that Gonzalez Urrutia won the election.
Blinken spoke to Machado and Gonzalez-Urrutia on Friday, expressing “concerns for their safety and well-being” and congratulating Gonzalez-Urrutia on “receiving the most votes,” according to the State Department.
Brazil, Colombia and Mexico issued a joint statement calling for “fair verification” of the results and demanding that Caracas release voting data broken down by polling place.
Maduro was re-elected in 2018, but his reelection bid was rejected by dozens of Latin American countries, the United States and European Union member states.
He enjoys the loyalty of the military leadership, electoral bodies, courts and other state institutions, and also enjoys support from Russia, China and Cuba.
