CARACAS: Venezuela braced for fresh protests on Saturday after President Nicolas Maduro's disputed election victory was ratified and a growing number of nations recognized his opposition rival as the real victor.
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, following Sunday's controversial vote.
On Friday, the South American country's electoral authority, the CNE, loyal to Maduro, declared him the winner with 52 percent of the vote and said Gonzalez Urrutia had received 43 percent of the ballots.
But Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama and Uruguay have recognized opposition leader Gonzalez Urrutia as the real president-elect, joining the United States and Peru in rejecting the official results.
For his part, the 61-year-old Maduro, who has reacted harshly to criticism of his victory, described the accusations of electoral fraud as a “trap” orchestrated by Washington to justify “a coup d’état”.
He also threatened Machado and Gonzalez Urrutia, saying they “should be behind bars.”
Maduro has led the oil-rich but cash-poor country since 2013, causing an 80 percent drop in GDP that has pushed more than seven million of Venezuela’s once-wealthy 30 million citizens to emigrate.
Experts attribute the collapse to economic mismanagement and sanctions imposed by the United States.
Gonzalez Urrutia failed to appear at a Supreme Court hearing after Maduro asked the court to investigate and certify the election results.
However, other opposition candidates summoned to the hearing called for a detailed vote count to be made public after Sunday's vote, which took place amid widespread fears that the vote could be rigged.
Voting records “are fundamental for transparency, they are fundamental for peace,” 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 the ballots, showing an easy victory for Gonzalez Urrutia. The government says they are fake.
Machado, who was barred from running, wrote in the Wall Street Journal that she and other opposition leaders were in hiding and “fearing for their lives.”
He called on his supporters to gather in cities across the country on Saturday to “state the truth” about the opposition's victory.
“We have the evidence and the world already recognizes it,” Machado wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Maduro has called for a daily mobilization, with “the mother of all marches to celebrate the victory of peace” on Saturday.
He accused the opposition of planning attacks against security forces during their demonstrations.
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 people were killed.
Authorities said more than 1,000 people were arrested during post-election protests.
This crackdown has sparked fear among opposition supporters.
“We have dead, wounded, detainees, missing people… People know it. They are afraid. They know they will face armed people,” said Katiusca Camargo, an activist in the Petare shantytown in eastern Caracas.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday that there was “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 “on receiving the most votes,” the State Department said.
In a joint statement, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico called for an “impartial verification” of the result, also asking Caracas to publish the voting data broken down by polling station.
Maduro's previous re-election, in 2018, was rejected by dozens of Latin American countries, as well as the United States and European Union member states.
It enjoys the loyalty of the military leadership, electoral bodies, courts and other state institutions, as well as the support of Russia, China and Cuba.
