Venezuelans protest presidential election results – Správa

Opponents of Venezuela’s re-elected President Nicolas Maduro took to the streets of the capital again on Wednesday to protest the results of a disputed presidential election a month ago. TASR reported on the matter based on a report from the Associated Press.

Thank you police and army for taking power

The Associated Press stressed that the election was held on July 28, and despite convincing evidence that candidate Edmund González Urrutia had won, Maduro was declared the winner. The result was condemned by the international community for the transparency of the election, and representatives of several countries joined the opposition in demanding the release of detailed results.

Meanwhile, the opposition points to thousands of statistical tables that they have collected and published on the Internet. Thus, they contradict the recent Supreme Court ruling that confirmed the victory of the incumbent president.

Maduro’s supporters also planned to hold a rally in support of the president on Wednesday, saying the protests were an attempt to spark unrest across Venezuela. Meanwhile, the president has relied on security forces to maintain his position during the crisis, according to the Associated Press.

Thousands detained

On Tuesday, the president appointed ruling party leader Diosdado Cabello as interior minister, also responsible for overseeing the police force. Cabela, meanwhile, declared that he would show no mercy to opponents of the government. The appointment has raised concerns that the situation will worsen, with more than 2,000 people detained so far, including journalists, politicians and students.

Detainees were also at the center of a special session of the Organization of American States in Washington on Wednesday to discuss a report on human rights violations by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. “The commission unequivocally condemns the institutionalized violence in Venezuela’s electoral process,” said commission member Roberta Clarke, a Barbadian lawyer. “Democracy and the rule of law must be restored,” she added.

The commission called on Venezuelan authorities to stop all actions that “instill fear” in the population, including arbitrary detentions and the use of violence by non-state actors loyal to Maduro. At the same time, she called for respect for the will of the Venezuelan people in calling for democratic change.