CARACAS: Venezuela braced for fresh protests on Saturday after President Nicolas Maduro's controversial election victory was ratified — and a growing number of countries recognized his opposition rival as the real winner.
Both Maduro and the opposition, led by Maria Karina Machado and her presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, have called on their supporters to demonstrate this weekend after Sunday's disputed vote.
The South American country's electoral body CNE, which is loyal to Maduro, declared him the winner on Friday with 52 percent of the vote and said González Urrutia won 43 percent of the ballots.
But Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama and Uruguay recognized opposition González Urrutia as the actual president-elect, joining the United States and Peru in rejecting the official results.
For his part, Maduro, 61, who reacted harshly to criticism of his victory, described allegations of vote fraud as a “trap” orchestrated by Washington to justify a “coup”.
He also threatened Machado and Gonzalez Urrutia, saying they “should be behind bars.”
Maduro has led the oil-rich, cash-strapped country since 2013, with GDP plummeting by 80 percent, forcing more than seven million of Venezuela's once-wealthy 30 million citizens to emigrate.
Experts blame economic mismanagement and US sanctions for the collapse.
González Urrutia failed to appear at the Supreme Court hearing after Maduro demanded the tribunal investigate and confirm the election results.
However, other opposition candidates called to the hearing called for a detailed vote count to be released after Sunday's vote, which took place amid widespread fears the vote would be rigged.
Voting records “are fundamental to transparency, they are fundamental to peace,” said Enrique Marquez, who also ran against Maduro as part of a smaller opposition group.
This week, the opposition launched a website with copies of 84 percent of the ballots showing González Urrutia's easy victory. The government claims they are fake.
Machado, who was barred from running, wrote in The Wall Street Journal that she is in hiding and “fearing for her life” along with other opposition leaders.
She called on supporters to rally in cities across the country on Saturday to “assert the truth” of the opposition's victory.
“We have proof and the world is already acknowledging it,” Machado wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Maduro called for daily mobilization, on Saturday with “the mother of all marches to celebrate the victory of peace”.
He accused the opposition of preparing attacks on security forces during rallies.
The non-governmental organization Foro Penal reported 11 deaths during 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 the post-election protests.
This crackdown caused fear among opposition supporters.
“We have the dead, the wounded, the detained, the missing… People know that. They are afraid. They know they will face armed men,” said Katyushka Camarga, an activist from the Petare slum in eastern Caracas.
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Thursday that there is “overwhelming evidence” that Gonzalez Urrutia won the election.
Blinken spoke to Machado and Gonzalez Urrutia on Friday, expressing “his concern for their safety and well-being” and congratulating Gonzalez Urrutia “for receiving the most votes,” the State Department said.
In a joint statement, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico called for an “impartial verification” of the results and called on Caracas to release voting data broken down by polling station.
Maduro's previous bid for re-election in 2018 was rejected by dozens of Latin American countries, as well as the US and EU member states.
He enjoys the loyalty of the military leadership, electoral bodies, courts and other state institutions, as well as the support of Russia, China and Cuba.
