MIAMI – Nicolás Maduro and his ruling socialist party control every branch of government in Venezuela, so his opposition didn’t feel much comfort when he asked the top court to audit Sunday’s election.
On Wednesday, Maduro stood outside the headquarters of the country’s top court to respond to accusations of election fraud amid a lack of transparency.
“I throw myself before justice,” Maduro told reporters in Caracas.
The Venezuelan diaspora, estimated at over 7.7 million, and the list of hundreds of political prisoners was expected to grow after Sunday’s election.
The United Socialist Party of Venezuela, or PSUV, leaders announced Monday that the embattled incumbent had won re-election to a third term as president.
Even Maduro’s leftist allies in South America Colombian President Gustavo Petro, Chilean President Gabriel Boric, and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called for election transparency.
“The serious doubts that have arisen around the Venezuelan electoral process can lead its people to a deep violent polarization with serious consequences of permanent division,” Petro wrote on X Wednesday.
Orlando Gutierrez Boronat, a spokesperson for the Cuban Democratic Directorate, an organization standing in solidarity with the Venezuelan opposition, said the international reaction is unprecedented.
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“From the center-left to the center-right, all these countries are saying, this is outright fraud,’” Boronat, of the Hemispheric Freedom Front, said.
“Does something feel different about this moment where we see Maduro without evidence claiming that he won this election?” asked Local 10 News’ Christina Vazquez.
“The fight for the freedom for Cuba has never had the kind of international recognition that Venezuela has had and it has been a long time since I have seen such a large block of Latin American countries saying that they don’t recognize the result of fraudulent elections and supporting the opposition,” said Boronat.
“Do you think then that opens a path toward democratic transition and how would that play out?” asked Vazquez.
“I think a key component of any democratic transition is that there is enough pressure under the ruling elite of the dictatorship so there is this fragmentation,” said Boronat. “I think international support that we are seeing helps that fragmentation take place. We are already seeing left-wing forces in Venezuela who are breaking from Maduro and they are siding with the people that is important.”
“How much then do you think does there need to also be an internal shift? Whether that is the military deciding not to crackdown on peaceful protestors, what elements need to exist internally?” Vazquez asked.
“I think the driving force of change is popular mobilization,” Boronat answered. “I think that is the rule in all real transitions to democracy. I think that the fact so many Venezuelans are out on the street, they have even begun a national strike, that is the driving force that will bring international solidarity and a split in the leadership, whether it is the military breaking from the regime or other components, that is essential to be able to overcome this dictatorship and begin a new democracy era in its history.”
Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, or CNE, controlled by PSUV leaders loyal to Maduro, distributed about 30,000 electronic voting machines to some 15,000 voting centers for Sunday’s election.
The electronic voting machines were designed to print a receipt for each voter showing the candidate they elected and a final tally sheet of all of the votes. Voters used the receipts as voting ballots.
Party representatives were supposed to have evidence of the count of the ballots and the voting machines’ tally sheets. The opposition protested when that didn’t happen and the CNE announced Maduro as the winner with 51.2% of the votes — without evidence of either.
Unable to run for office herself after a ban, Maria Corina Machado, is one of the few opposition leaders who haven’t been forced into exile. She campaigned for Edmundo González, a political newcomer, and led a massive effort to double-check the election results.
While the CNE reported the data from 80% of the tally sheets showed González, 74, had over 4.4 million votes and Maduro 5.1 million, the opposition reported the data from 73% of the tally sheets showed González had over 6.2 million votes while Maduro had about 2.7 million.
The U.S., Canada, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic, and Uruguay are among the countries asking the CNE for transparency. China, Russia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Honduras, and Iran recognize Maduro as the winner.
The Atlanta-based Carter Center, a nonprofit organization by the former president in partnership with Emory University announced the handling of Sunday’s election did not comply with the international standards of integrity and violated even Venezuelan electoral law.
The opposition and human rights activists reported Maduro’s administration immediately started to repress dissent. The United Nations expressed concern on Wednesday over political violence and reports of human rights violations after the election.
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