Venezuela, opposition: 'Minutes prove Maduro's defeat'
Gonzales, according to opposition figures, won with 67% of the vote
2' min read
2' min read
The opposition in Venezuela continues to contestthe declared victory of Nicolas Maduro in the presidential elections, and does so on the basis of the minutes drawn up in the individual polling stations that provide incontrovertible proof of the actual results, as the US has also pointed out. While at least 24 people died in the repression of the square protests following the elections.
With 83.5 per cent of the electoral rolls counted, the candidate of the opposition coalition Piattaforma Unitaria Democratica, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, received over 7.3 million votes in the 28 July presidential election, or 67 per cent. While Nicolas Maduro stopped at 3.3 million votes. This is stated in the latest bulletin, the fifth, issued by the National Campaign Committee of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, which calculated the result on more than 25,000 polling stations. According to data released by the Committee, the turnout was 60.08% while almost 5 thousand polling stations are still missing.
"The reports keep coming in. Despite the repression and threats, our heroic witnesses show that popular sovereignty is respected,' Machado said, adding that 'the time has come for an orderly transition' of power from Maduro to the conservative candidate Gonzalez, described once again as the 'winner of the presidential elections'.
For the US it is 'almost impossible to falsify the minutes' submitted by the opposition. This was said from the White House by the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Mark Wells. The senior official in Joe Biden's administration reiterated support for the Venezuelan opposition and the victory of candidate Gonzalez. "We have reviewed the evidence and the numbers speak for themselves. The true result of the election is clear and the world can see it,' he said. For Wells, 'the US supports dialogue between Maduro and the opposition and intends to work with both sides'. The undersecretary added that Washington supports the mediation proposal that Colombia, Brazil and Mexico are working on.
Meanwhile, the Venezuelan Supreme Court formalised the summoning of the ten presidential candidates from today until Friday. "Failure to appear will result in consequences that are punishable by our legal system," said the president of the Court, Caryslia Rodriguez.
