Venezuelan opposition claims, we will prove victory. Police disperse demonstrations

Venezuela’s opposition says it can prove its irreversible victory in Sunday’s presidential election. Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said she had received 73.2% of the electoral tally, which would have marked a clear win for presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia.

However, the government-controlled electoral body declared authoritarian incumbent President Nicolas Maduro the winner on Monday without releasing the results. In response, thousands of people took to the streets in cities across Venezuela; security forces tried to break up some protests with tear gas and rubber bullets.

The Central Election Commission declared Maduro the president-elect for a third six-year term from 2025 to 2031. With 80% of precincts counted, Maduro won 51% of the vote, while González Urrutia received 44%, according to the commission.

Opposition to release records

The opposition, on the other hand, said it could prove a clear victory for its candidate. “We are moving towards democracy, 25 years is enough. Now it’s time for them to leave,” Machado’s campaign chief Magalie Meda said, according to Reuters, referring to the quarter-century of leftist dictatorship that began under Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chavez.

The opposition said it was preparing to release voting records from polling stations and called on supporters to gather this afternoon local time (evening CEST) to peacefully celebrate the opposition’s victory. However, according to Reuters, some observers were unable to obtain the records and the opposition’s records are far from complete.

Responding to the opposition statement, Maduro said the regime knew how to act in similar situations and how to “defeat the spreaders of violence”. He had previously accused the opposition of “lies and manipulation”. Pre-election polls showed the opposition candidate leading by ten percentage points.

Countries call for review

To review the results, Caracas invited nine Latin American countries to a simultaneous meeting of the Council of the Organization of American States (OAS), which brings together three dozen Americas countries, including the United States.

The White House expressed concerns about whether the results released reflected the will of the Venezuelan people. Other countries, including Germany, Spain and Brazil, called for the full results to be released. Peru ordered Venezuelan diplomats to leave the country, and Uruguay’s foreign minister said the country would never recognize Maduro as president.

Thousands of Venezuelans turned out to protest on Monday night, saying Maduro was trying to “steal the election.” Police used tear gas on some demonstrators.

A group of opposition officials who have been stranded at the Argentine Embassy in Caracas for a long time because they fear arrest said late Monday that Venezuelan security forces tried to infiltrate them.